Denmark women to play Croatia after 'partial' pay deal

By AP
Published

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A partial agreement has been made with the women's team so they can play a Women's World Cup qualifier against Croatia next week after a qualifier against Sweden was canceled over a pay dispute, Denmark's football federation DBU said.

The DBU didn't disclose details of the agreement but said on Friday the two sides would continue negotiations after the game on Tuesday in Zagreb.

In a joint statement, the federation and the women's team said FIFPro, the international players' union, and UEFA will join the talks aimed at reaching an agreement.

''It is important that we now have a partial deal in place so it is possible to play the World Cup qualifiers,'' team captain Pernille Harder said, adding the aim was a collective bargaining agreement.

The DBU has not heard yet from UEFA and FIFA regarding ''possible sanctions'' after cancelling Friday's game against Sweden.

After Denmark informed UEFA and FIFA on Wednesday that the women couldn't play in Goteborg, the Swedish Football Federation said it was considering seeking compensation from Denmark as allowed by regulations, adding no decision had been taken yet.

World Cup regulations allow for punishments including disqualification, wiping previous Denmark results from the group, withholding of payments from TV rights, and paying compensation to opponents.

UEFA said any disciplinary case could be opened only after Friday's match date.

In September, the DBU cancelled a friendly rematch of the Women's European Championship final between Denmark and the Netherlands after wage talks collapsed. The DBU and women then reached a partial agreement to allow the women to play a Women's World Cup qualifier against Hungary.