The United States women’s soccer team’s (USWNT) lawsuit for pay parity was dismissed by a federal judge on Friday and announced a judgement in the favour of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).

In a 32-page ruling, Judge Gary Klausner of the US District Court for Central California in Los Angeles dismissed the women’s team’s claims of pay discrimination by arguing that their allegations were insufficient to warrant a trial.

However, the judge allowed the women’s case for unfair treatment in areas such as travelling, housing and medical support and initiated a trial which would begin on June 16 in Los Angeles.

The USWNT players – who have won four FIFA World Cups in comparison to zero by the men’s team – were left shocked and disappointed as they had demanded a back pay of USD 66 million under the Equal Pay Act.

But Judge Klausner dismissed the case on the back of the evidence which stated that the women had previously turned down an offer in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations to be paid along the riskier lines of the pay-to-play structure of the US men’s team.

“The history of negotiations between the parties demonstrates that the WNT rejected an offer to be paid under the same pay-to-play structure as the MNT, and the WNT was willing to forgo higher bonuses for benefits, such as greater base compensation and the guarantee of a higher number of contracted players,” Klausner wrote.

“Accordingly, plaintiffs cannot now retroactively deem their CBA (collective bargaining agreement) worse than the MNT CBA by reference to what they would have made had they been paid under the MNT’s pay-to-play terms structure when they themselves rejected such a structure,” he said.

Meanwhile, the USSF on Friday night said that the governing body would continue to work with the women’s team and programmes to make sure the growth of the game is not hindered in the country.

“We look forward to working with the Women’s National Team to chart a positive path forward and to grow the game both here at home and around the world,” USSF said as quoted by PTI via AFP.

“We are committed to continuing that work to ensure our Women’s National Team remains the best in the world,” it added.