Leeds United chairman Peter Ridsdale has urged the Professional Football Association (PFA) and England's soccer authorities to sort out their differences.
The PFA has sent out ballot papers to their members and are confident they will be able to call strike action over the row surrounding the amount of cash they receive from central television contracts.
The PFA argue that the Premier League wants to cut the 5 per cent it receives from the contracts, and all talks have so far failed to resolve the PFA's complaint.
Many supporters cannot understand why players who earn up to £80,000 a week feel the need to go on strike. But the PFA argues its stance is more concerned with those lower down the income scale and players who are forced to retire from the game prematurely.
"I would remind everybody that their income is derived from television in the first place," said Ridsdale. "I am disappointed this has turned into a public spat because it should have been resolved in private.
"Every dispute gets resolved eventually, but I hope there is no damage sustained in the meantime.
"There is a huge disparity between what players are being paid in the Premier League and what they are earning in the Third Division," Ridsdale said.
"But the issue will only be resolved by people getting round a table and talking about it," Ridsdale told Sky Sports News.
PA