Spanish league and federation split over 2nd game in US

Another game, another argument. The sports and entertainment group backing the Spanish league's bid to take a regular-season soccer game to the United States says it was contacted by the Spanish federation to discuss holding a separate game the Super Cup final in the country.

The federation, which has raised its concerns over the planned Barcelona-Girona league game near Miami in January, denied the claim by the Relevent group on Sunday.

The federation said it had never sought the help of any company to take the "Supercopa" to the U.S.

In Spain, the league oversees the first and second divisions, while the federation organizes tournaments such as the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.

The Super Cup pits the Spanish league champion against the Copa del Rey winner in a one-match final at the start of the season. This year's game was played between Barcelona and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco.

The federation told The Associated Press it was Relevent that proposed having the Super Cup game in Miami in 2019. The federation said it had rejected the offer.

It said Relevent recently invited federation president Luis Rubiales to a dinner in New York as he was in the city for other business, but the federation denied this was to discuss the Super Cup game. The group's proposal had already been rejected by then and the meeting never happened.

The league's idea to play games in the U.S. to promote its brand has been supported by many but has also been met by criticism from soccer officials and some fans and clubs in Spain. The dispute has become a tug-of-war among the several stakeholders, with all sides trying to weigh-in and defend their ground.

This latest dispute seems unlikely to improve the situation.

"It is scandalous to offer the Spanish Super Cup in the USA to the same organization that has a partnership with LaLiga (Spanish league) while telling LaLiga it can't stage a match stateside," Spanish league president Javier Tebas told the AP in a league email written in English.

"It's clear that there is an inherent problem with a process when the federation deciding on approval is negotiating a similar deal concurrently," Tebas claimed.

"When it comes to the LaLiga match in the US, decisions and opinions by the governing bodies haven't been based on what's in the best interest of football globally, but how it impacts self interests and leverages business negotiations on unrelated matters."