This action by FIFA is a blatant and deceitful violation of our right of first refusal.

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MasterCard strongly disagrees with the majority opinion issued yesterday by a panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the grant of class certification in the merchant antitrust action.

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Among the key terms we bargained for in the 2002-2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship negotiation was the right to obtain future FIFA World Cup sponsorship opportunities.

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By attacking the Honor All Cards rule, Wal-Mart and the other merchants are attempting to use the antitrust laws to take the choice of how to pay away from the consumer, and claim it for themselves.

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The decision in no way relates to the merits of the case. We remain confident that our position will prevail and that consumers will not be disadvantaged by the efforts of class action lawyers to impede the ability of cardholders to use their MasterCard cards wherever MasterCard is accepted.

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