Professional Footballers Australia said that A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers players are "mulling a boycott of this week's FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco over a pay dispute," according to Ian Ransom of REUTERS. The Wanderers, "who qualified as Asian club champions," are scheduled to play Liga MX side Cruz Azul next Saturday, "with the winners going on to face Real Madrid" in the semifinals. PFA CEO Adam Vivian said in a statement that Wanderers players "were in dispute with club management over distribution of the prizemoney for qualifying for the tournament." The Wanderers have already secured $1M for qualification. The eventual winner receives $5M. Vivian: "The players have made every attempt to reach an agreement on a fair and equitable share of the prize money" (REUTERS, 12/7). In Sydney, Dominic Bossi reported the relationship between Wanderers players and the club's management "is on the verge of a complete breakdown." The club is "refusing to increase its offer" of a 10% share of the minimum A$1.2M ($1M) prize money on offer in Morocco. Wanderers management said that "because the Club World Cup is not covered by the PFA's collective bargaining agreement, the club is not obliged to share prize money with the players." The PFA has advised the players that if the tournament is "not deemed to be covered in the agreement, the players are under no obligation to participate." The players called for a 50% share of the purse to "fall in line with the dividends associated with the Asian Champions League final and many other major events." The players approached the club with a "willingness to negotiate an agreement but were denied." The players also presented the option for "independent arbitration, which the club also refused to entertain" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/7).
