The Major League Soccer (MLS) and US Soccer properties have come out on top in a legal battle – which has lasted for over seven years – against the North American Soccer League (NASL).
A federal jury found that US Soccer did not breach antitrust laws when it denied the NASL’s application to be classified as a ‘Division 2’ league in the US soccer structure, in September 2017.
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The NASL – which expects to appeal this judgment – filed a lawsuit soon after that with a court in New York, initially asking for $500 million in damages.
The NASL operated as a second-tier league with Division 2 status – underneath MLS – between 2011 and 2017, but then was discontinued in 2018 after the decision by US Soccer to withhold its license. It refused to operate as a Division 3 league and therefore had to shut down.
MLS is the only Division 1 league currently operating in the US, and the NASL had claimed that a conspiracy between MLS and US Soccer was behind its application being rejected (to reduce competition for MLS from other leagues). Indeed, the original lawsuit against US Soccer was amended at a later date to include MLS as a co-defendant.
At the time the lawsuit was filed, the marketing arm of MLS – Soccer United Marketing – had responsibility for handling US Soccer’s media rights.
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By GlobalDataHowever, following a trial that ran through most of January, a jury has sided with US Soccer, in a unanimous verdict. The body had been charged with four counts of alleged conspiratorial and monopolistic illegal acts.
It has been reported that a significant factor in the jury coming down on the side of MLS and US Soccer was that, while the NASL did not move up a division level, other teams and leagues did. This evidence disproved the idea that there was an antitrust conspiracy to restrict trade run by US Soccer.
Testimony during the trial included evidence from former US Soccer president Sunil Gulati, MLS commissioner Don Garber, and Rocco Commisso, owner of the New York Cosmos (one of the NASL sides). Commisso, it has been reported, personally funded much of the lawsuit.
In a statement, US Soccer said: “We are pleased the jury has recognized the lack of merit in NASL's claims and ruled in our favor, bringing this unfounded litigation to a close. This decision validates US Soccer's commitment to fostering a broad and healthy ecosystem of professional soccer leagues across all divisions.”
When US Soccer rejected the NASL’s application for Division 2 status, it announced its reason for doing so was that the NASL could not guarantee fielding the required number of teams – eight – in the 2018 season.
MLS also commented, stating: “The jury's verdict confirms that this case was nothing more than an attempt by NASL to deflect blame for its own failures. Since our inception in 1996, MLS has been dedicated to making the necessary investments to elevate the sport of soccer and provide an exceptional experience for players and fans.”
A lead attorney for the firm representing the NASL (Winston & Strawn), however, has said that there have been “some fundamental legal errors made which prevented the jurors from receiving important evidence or being instructed on the correct legal standards and claims. Our client accordingly expects to appeal.”
