WILLEMSTAD – Football competition in Curaçao came to a standstill Wednesday evening after the Curaçao Football Referees Association (CFRA) decided at the last minute not to officiate scheduled matches amid a dispute over compensation.
The Curaçao Football Federation (FFK) expressed regret over the decision, describing it as a unilateral action that immediately affected clubs, players and supporters.
At the center of the dispute is a demand from referees for a 100 percent increase in their compensation.
The FFK said it takes the concerns raised by referees seriously but argued that an increase of that magnitude cannot simply be implemented without first examining the financial implications.
According to the federation, efforts were made to meet with representatives of the referees at FFK headquarters before the tournament, but attempts to reach an agreement ultimately broke down at the last moment.
The disagreement resulted in the cancellation of Wednesday evening’s matches.
The FFK is now calling on the referees to return to negotiations as quickly as possible in an effort to resolve the dispute and prevent further disruption to the competition.
The federation said the interests of football, participating clubs and the continuation of the competition should once again take priority.
It remains unclear when the cancelled matches will be rescheduled or whether additional fixtures could be affected if the compensation dispute is not resolved.