JUST WHEN YOU thought football was safe from strikes comes the announcement that all Serie A games will be postponed this weekend.

Sky Sports reports that the Italian Players’ Association have confirmed that no matches will go ahead this weekend as a result of the strike.

A strike had previously threatened to disrupt the Spanish league season, following a disagreement over players’ wages, and now the Italian league is set to follow suit.

There have been two issues of contention that prompted the players to sign a document warning of a strike if a new collective contract was not signed prior to the beginning of the season.

One issue is that clubs want to implement a system whereby unwanted players are forced to train away from the first team, and the second is clubs’ insistence that players should be forced to abide by a new government solidarity tax that applies to high-wage earners.

Speaking to reporters, Federation president Giancarlo Abete said earlier:

“The announcement that the first round of the season won’t be played is imminent.”

The two sides have been debating the issue since the most recent collective contract expired in June 2010.

Serie A narrowly avoided strike action last season, as last-minute deals were reached between players and officials on two occasions.

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