Madrid, May 7 (IANS): The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Wednesday that it was declaring a strike which will paralyse Spanish football from May 16, a media report said on Thursday.

The strike will affect the last two weeks which are programmed for the BBVA Primera Liga and the final of the Copa del Rey knockout competition which is due to be played in the Camp Nou Stadium on May 30, Xinhua reported.

The RFEF justifies its decision by explaining that the recent decision taken by the Spanish government to allow the centralised sale of television rights, which they insist is an "attitude from the Spanish government which shows a lack of respect towards the RFEF and which fails to resolve all of the questions which have arisen in the previous months."

Unless the issue is resolved quickly the end of the season could now be thrown into chaos, while the 40,000 Athletic Club Bilbao fans who have already paid for their travel and hotels for the Copa del Rey final in Barcelona could be severely prejudiced.