Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said yesterday that MLS is in compliance with FIFA regulations regarding player contracts despite the MLS Players Union's assertion that the league operates outside the rules set forth by the sport's international governing body.

"I will state emphatically that we are in fact operating in compliance with the FIFA regulations and the union is simply wrong on this point," Garber said during a teleconference with reporters yesterday.

The union and the league are in the seventh month of collective-bargaining negotiations. The current agreement expires Jan. 31.

Union members said securing contract rights set forth by FIFA are at the heart of their demands and last week indicated that a work stoppage is likely unless negotiations improve.

The majority of MLS player contracts are semi-guaranteed, meaning the league can terminate them before July 1 or in some cases later in the season without paying the balance of a player's salary.

According to Article 16 of FIFA's Regulation on Status and Transfer of Players, a player's contract "cannot be unilaterally terminated during the course of a season."

Article 13 of the same document states that "a contract between a professional and club may only be terminated upon expiry of the term of the contract or by mutual consent."

Union executive director Bob Foose was unavailable for comment.

Garber indicated the league would not yield from its positions during negotiations because of the potential for a work stoppage.

"Let me be very, very clear: We, the league, will not agree to a CBA that is going to impact our ability to grow the sport in the U.S. and Canada," Garber said. "We're not going to compromise any of the key issues that we're discussing confidentiallyin order to avoid a stoppage."

Marshall on Best XI

Crew defender Chad Marshall was named to the MLS postseason Best XI team for a second consecutive season. He has won the league's defender of the year award the past two seasons.

smitchell@dispatch.com