President Biden’s administration supports a lawsuit by a soccer promoter and asks the Supreme Court to review the case. The dispute in court began when FIFA denied permits for league games, the plaintiff asks to apply the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The administration of the president of United States, Joe Biden, sided with the promoter who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the FI FA and the United States Soccer Federation about world football’s governing body’s policy against holding league games in other countries and asked the Supreme Court to allow the case to proceed to trial.
In the 23-page report filed by Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar, the government said the Supreme Court should review the case and allow the 2023 Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision to stand.
The Federation “did not act independently. Instead, it participated in conjunction with a member association that adopted a policy binding its member associations and relied on that policy as its stated justification for denying approval of the proposed matches,” the government wrote.
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The government added that the Federation “was not randomly chosen as a FIFA member, nor was it a passive entity or an unconscious spectator in the adoption and compliance of the 2018 policy.”
Relevant Sports, which is controlled by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, announced in August 2018 that it intended to host a Barcelona match against Girona in Miami Gardens, Florida, in January of the following year.
But in October 2018, FIFA indicated that its board of directors adopted a policy that “emphasized the sporting principle that official league games must be played within the territory of the respective member of the association.” Barcelona abandoned its commitment to play in Florida.
The Federation refused another permit to Relevent in 2019 to authorize a league duel between two teams from Ecuador.
Relevent sued, claiming it was a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and tortious interference.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
