The Biden Administration presented a brief to the United States Supreme Court against the monopoly of FIFA and the US Federation for soccer in the country.
The Biden Administration has dealt a blow to FIFA. In a non-binding letter sent to the United States Supreme Court, the government has asked the court to rule in favour of the lawsuit between Relevant Sports against FIFA and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for a case of monopoly and unfair competition in soccer in the country. The company was trying to host foreign league matches (Premier League or LaLiga) on American soil, but a failure by the international organisation prevented this initiative from being carried out.
Although a federal court judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2021, just two years later the decision was overturned on appeal. The USSF asked the Supreme Court not to reopen the case, with the latter asking the Biden Administration about hearing the defendant’s petition, obtaining a recommendation that they “do not do so and allow that the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit be upheld,” as reported by The Athletic.
The background of the lawsuit
At the end of 2018, the company Relevant Sports, owned by magnate Stephen Ross, filed a complaint against FIFA and the USSF for prohibiting the possibility of a LaLiga match between Girona and FC Barcelona in Miami. The company alleged that “the USSF and FIFA had worked together to create a monopoly” and prevented foreign league matches from taking place on national soil, thus violating the antitrust law established in the country.
According to the ruling of the Supreme Court, “in mid-2018, the defendant met with the petitioner to propose hosting an official mid-season match in the United States between two Spanish teams (Girona and FC Barcelona )… In October 2018, after the petitioner and others notified the Council about the match, the Council (FIFA) adopted a policy and issued a press release affirming the sporting principle that official matches of league must be played within the territory of the respective member association”. This measure ‘forced’ FC Barcelona to withdraw from the initiative.
How could it affect international soccer?
The case made international headlines because it set a precedent never seen before. Should the Supreme Court heed the Biden Administration’s recommendation, both USSF and FIFA could sit on the defendants’ bench in a much larger trial. Relevant Sports states that, before launching the initiative, the USSF had already “disapproved certain official matches that they wanted to host” in the country.
In the petition sent to the Supreme Court to avoid the trial, the USSF warned that this trial could be a “germ” that would spread to other countries and thus alter the status quo of soccer. The federation argued that “Relevent’s lawsuit could put members of any other federation at risk of being charged in the future with conspiracy or creating monopolies in the sport.”
If the Supreme Court finally rules in favour of Relevant Sports, the result of the trial could help future matches from other leagues to be played abroad, thus going against the regulations imposed by FIFA in 2018 (“league matches must be played on national soil”), both in the United States and in other countries to forever change the business of international soccer.
