Denmark Women’s World Cup qualifier against Sweden has been cancelled because of a pay dispute.
The Danish team refused to play a friendly against Holland last month in protest over pay and conditions and the Danish Football Association (DBU) announced on its website on Wednesday that it had informed its Swedish counterpart that Friday’s match, scheduled to take place in Gothenburg, was off.
“It is a historically bad day for the women’s team and for Danish football overall,” the DBU senior vice-president, Kim Hallberg, said. “It is regrettable but also grotesque that we are in a situation where players will not meet up for major international matches, even though we have offered better terms and invited them to new negotiations after the matches.”
The DBU said it had offered to increase the investment in the women’s team by 2m Danish Krone (£240,000) per year, from DKK 2.6m to DKK 4.6m, to be used on higher salaries, bonuses and strengthening the staff around the team. The men’s team offered to give up their DKK 500,000 annual bonus for the women, but this was rejected. The DBU and the players’ association have been in negotiations over the situation since last November.
The women’s team, who in August reached the Euro 2017 final, losing to the hosts, Holland, are due to play another World Cup qualifier, in Croatia, on Tuesday.
The DBU said it has also informed Fifa of the players’ absence and was “awaiting a disciplinary ruling that may be both financial, punitive and/or excluded from the entire World Cup qualification” from the governing body.