Italian soccer new season threatened by strike

 　　ROME, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Italian first division soccer league new season may face a strike if players and clubs do not reach a compromise over a new collective labour agreement.

　　"If we do not sign the new labour agreement, the first round of fixtures¹ will be delayed," said the president of the players' union (AIC) Damiano Tommasi following a fruitless meeting with club representatives in Milan on Tuesday.

　　The Spanish soccer new season was also bothered by a strike as the opening day of the season had to be called off at the weekend after players there went on strike in a dispute over unpaid² salaries. However while strikes were mooted³ in Italy several times last season, they were never carried out.

　　"After a year of this, we cannot call this a threat," added former Roma and Italy midfielder Tommasi. "The fact is we cannot start the new season without a new labour agreement. You will have to ask the League (Lega) what the chances are of us agreeing a deal."

　　"We want to start the season because it will mean that a collective labour agreement has been signed," he added.

　　Players in the Serie A are refusing to agree to train alone if their club decides that they are no longer in their plans, and are also against clubs being allowed to settle the final year of the contract of any player they no longer want.

1 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

3 mooted   

adj.未决定的，有争议的，有疑问的v.提出…供讨论( moot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The is sue was mooted on the Senate floor. 该问题在参院被提出讨论。 来自辞典例句
• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point. 那个在董事会上（提出讨论）的问题仍（未决的）。 来自互联网