North American Soccer League's lawsuit against US Soccer Federation, MLS is dismissed

A federal court jury sided with the U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer on Monday in an antitrust lawsuit brought against the organizations by a now-defunct league that sued after it did not have its second-tier status renewed.

After the verdict was announced, Judge Hector Gonzalez in Brooklyn dismissed the case brought in 2017 by the North American Soccer League, which disbanded months after the federation's decision not to renew the status.

The league said in the lawsuit the federation and MLS conspired to maintain a monopoly on pro soccer in the U.S. and Canada. The suit initially sought $500 million in damages.

MLS said the allegations were meritless.

“The jury’s verdict confirms that this case was nothing more than an attempt by NASL to deflect blame for its own failures,” MLS said in a statement. “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.”

The federation, which is the governing body for soccer in the U.S., called the jury's decision “an important victory for the broader sports landscape.”

Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer for the league, said in an email that an appeal was highly likely. He said without elaborating there were fundamental errors that “prevented the jury from considering important evidence and claims."

The federation sanctions leagues in three divisions, with the top Division 1 league being the MLS. The awarding of division status is based on a number of criteria including stadium seating capacity, the number of teams and the locations of those teams.

The North American Soccer League, which was founded in 2009, held second-tier status from 2011-17. It said in its lawsuit the federation's criteria for determining status was anticompetitive and exclusionary and had the effect of preventing the league and others like it from competing against MLS for Division 1 and the United Soccer League in Division 2.

The federation and MLS denied those allegations.

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