The Premier League's plan to stage matches overseas has suffered another blow with the news that the head of American soccer would not go against the wishes of Fifa to host games.
Fifa, world football's governing body, will look into the proposal for a 39th round of English matches being taken abroad at their executive committee meeting on March 14th.
They have so far refused to back or shoot down the scheme championed by Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, but Uefa president Michael Platini has already insisted it would "never be received" by Fifa.
Scudamore yesterday claimed the matches could go ahead without the say-so of Fifa, but Sunil Gulati, president of the US Soccer Federation, is adamant he would never allow games to go ahead without the blessing of Sepp Blatter.
"We've been reluctant to have official games played in the US," he said. "We'll be guided by Fifa on this matter. But if it's not in line with its rules then we won't sanction it.
"We had a similar proposal 10 years ago when a team playing in Los Angeles wanted to play in the Mexican league. We didn't let that happen and Concacaf (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) said no.
"We understand it's a global sport but it's about nurturing the home game. If Fifa said 'okay, it's up to the relevant FAs', then we would look at it."
