The USA’s Oct. 14 friendly against Catalonia, has been vetoed by the Spanish soccer federation. “There’s an agreement between clubs and the league that all games played by autonomous selections have to be played during Christmas holidays since it doesn’t leave the clubs in a tough spot and the players don’t risk injury,” federation spokesman Jorge Carretero said. The friendly between the USA and Catalonia would have fallen between Spain’s Euro 2008 qualifier at Denmark on Oct. 13 and a friendly against Finland in Helsinki on Oct. 17.
Catalonia is an autonomous region of Spain whose capital is Barcelona.
Spain’s regional teams occasionally play games during the winter break. But last October, Catalonia played a Basque regional select team.