Mls, Players ‘far apart’ on labour talks

Major League Soccer said on Friday it remains “far apart” on the terms of a collective bargaining agreement and will terminate the existing pact and lock out players for the first time in league history if a new deal is not reached by midnight Thursday. The league, headed up by commissioner Don Garber, shown, extended by one week the deadline to complete negotiations with the players’ union on a new deal and is committed to regular meetings over the coming days. According to MLS, it has offered to pay players 100 per cent of their compensation in 2021 in exchange for an extension of the current CBA for two years through the 2027 season. MLS said the two-year extension would allow the league and clubs to recover a portion of the losses incurred in 2021 as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The MLS Players’ Association said in a statement on Thursday it proposed an extension to the current deal through the 2026 season that, coupled with a pact reached last June, would result in more than US$200 million in economic concessions.