Earlier today, Bray Wanderers' players confirmed that they are going on strike.
The representative body PFAI confirmed that the players will be striking in a statement that you can read below that outlined their grievances with the club, including no wages being paid for the last seven weeks.
Earlier, journalist Johnny Ward discussed the situation on our morning show OTB AM, saying, "For the Bray Wanderers players to be treated like dirt two seasons in a row now is disgraceful.
"The people running that club: I don’t know how they can go about their daily lives and think this is OK. This is absolutely despicable."
Our League of Ireland podcast player Jamie Moore has since been speaking to Bray Wanderers player Sean Heaney about the decision to go on strike.
The 22 year old defender explained how they arrived at the decision.
"We had a meeting with the PFAI and they said, 'Look lads, we feel this is the only way to go about it. Ballot for strike, vote whatever way you want', and obviously we voted Yes," he said.
"And obviously it's last resort. Sitting in that room last night wasn't a nice feeling. None of us really wanted to be there but we felt it had to be done and hopefully the club take notice now and do something about it."
He also stated that an "overwhelming majority" of the playing staff voted Yes, before explaining his own reasoning.
The full interview will be on OTB's Now That's What I Call Sport on 98FM this Sunday at 9AM.
Full text of statement on behalf of Bray Wanderers Players
It is with great regret that we release this statement.
We had sincerely hoped that we could resolve the unsatisfactory payment situation at the club, but despite weeks of negotiations by the PFA Ireland on our behalf, these efforts have proven fruitless.
It is now seven weeks (25th May 2018), since we have been paid with no prospect of payment of these arrears or realistic proposals for future wages in sight. We are all players who rely on our weekly wage to pay our bills, mortgages and every day living expenses.
During the above time frame, players who required operations due to injuries were forced to pay for their own operations, as the club was unable to pay for same. Issues around rehab and physiotherapy for players have also been an issue.
This is, of course, the second season that contract issues have arisen and it is hugely disappointing that the club have allowed this situation to arise. We have now lost all trust in the club to respect our contracts. We had hoped, in vain, that the FAI would attempt to resolve the problems but in spite of the obvious signposts erected during last season's uncertainty, the FAI and their licensing department have failed to address a very obvious red flag and do not appear to have any plan to resolve this crisis.
With no prospect of this appalling situation being resolved, we have balloted to strike and by overwhelming majority, we will be providing seven-day notice to the club on Tuesday. Coming to this decision last night was one of the hardest of our professional careers and reached with the heaviest of hearts.
This is very much a last resort action but we feel we have been left with no choice.
To the Bray Wanderers supporters, our fellow League of Ireland players and clubs, and to the wider League of Ireland community we sincerely hope that you understand that we have been left with no other option than to take this action.
Bray Wanderers Players
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