Athletic make second away trip without Uriarte amid rising tension with squad | OneFootball

Jon Uriarte did not travel to Vigo for Celta v Athletic at 21:30, his second straight away absence after missing Thursday's 2-0 defeat at Spotify Camp Nou. He did attend the women's league opener at Lezama at midday.

According to El Correo, the no-show comes amid tension after free tickets at San Mamés were scrapped for players and others. The president normally travels to most away games, and the squad want a meeting with Uriarte.

Athletic's party reached the Hotel Eurostars Mar de Vigo around 12:00 with several directors, but without the president. It is unclear whether players will continue the media blackout at Balaídos, a plan launched in Barcelona only hours before kick-off.

In Barcelona, no player spoke to rights-holding broadcasters after the match or attended the mixed zone. The first is a contractual duty and the second long-standing practice. It was communicated that the stance related to an internal club issue and costs collaboration ranking points.

Those points feed directly into television income, and Athletic usually rank highly, so money will be lost.

The dispute flared days after courtesy tickets were withdrawn. Players had six per game, four fixed and two tied to purchases.

The cuts also hit former players, employees, retirees and former presidents. Directors have given up theirs, and the club now provides only the 30 minimum required by LaLiga. The move is justified by a waiting list of more than 11,000 members at San Mamés.

Source: El Correo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”