Racing de Santander captain Mario Fernandez has revealed that the team will boycott their Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Sociedad on Thursday unless president Angel Lavin resigns.
The Segunda B side's financial problems have meant that the players have not been paid for a number of months and now their participation in the Spanish cup has been thrown into doubt.
"If the board does not resign in the next few hours, the squad here announces its irrevocable refusal to compete in our next game in the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey," Fernandez told reporters. "We want to make the club's members, season ticket-holders, fans and the general public aware of our situation. The players have not been paid for a number of months, despite several promises from the president that we would be paid."
"The lack of payment and the broken promises has caused a difficult financial situation for a number of players, which has in turn caused requests for contract resolutions."
"The lack of adequate response from the board of directors, the ever worsening financial situation in which we find ourselves and the news that has appeared in the media in the last few days has driven the squad towards taking the unanimous situation to call for the immediate resignation of the president and the rest of the board of directors."
Santander trail 3-1 from the first leg against Sociedad played last week.
Matt Law
