MADRID (AFP) - The 33rd America's Cup, set to take place in Spain in 2009, has been postponed, and no new date set, due to a legal dispute over the rules of the sailing event, organizers AC Management said Thursday.

"The ongoing uncertainty around the conclusion of the New York court case brought by BMW Oracle Racing leaves the organizers no choice but to delay the event, as many indicators demonstrate a lack of viability to stage the event in 2009 to the same standards as the 32nd America's Cup," it said in a statement.

In July Oracle, whose home club is Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) of San Francisco, filed a lawsuit accusing Alinghi of adopting a protocol for the sailing showpiece which is unfairly weighed in the Swiss defender's favour.

Oracle wants Alinghi to drop Desafio Espanol as its "challenger of record" and change the new rules, which include the introduction of a new, larger boat class, that the two sides have introduced.

The US team argues that the Spanish syndicate is an invalid challenger since it never held a regatta as required under the decades-old regulations that govern the America's Cup known as the "deed of the gift".

Alinghi, which represents Societe Nautique de Geneve, beat Team New Zealand 5-2 to win the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia in Spain in July, and with it the right to run their defence when and as they wish.

Talks between Alinghi and Oracle aimed at reaching an out-of-court settlement broke down Friday, after the Swiss side rejected a final compromise put forward by the US team which was backed by three of the seven challengers.

An Oracle spokesman said the postponement was "unfortunate and unnecessary".

Organizers said they did not know when the event would now take place.

"We are going to reflect to decide what date would be best," AC Management chief executive Michel Hodara told AFP.

Earlier this week Alinghi's lawyer Hamish Ross said the event would most likely have to be put off until 2011 as the uncertainty caused by the legal challenge was making it hard for teams to secure corporate sponsorship.

Holding the event in 2010 would be difficult as it would compete for television air time with the football World Cup in South Africa, he told a radio station in New Zealand.

AC Management accepted two more challengers -- Italy's Mascalzone Latino and Spain's Ayre Challenge -- on Tuesday and said two more syndicates were set to join.

Until then only five challengers had signed up for the 33rd America's Cup: Team New Zealand, United Internet Team Germany, Spain's Desafio Espanol, South Africa's Team Shosholoza and Britain's Team Origin.

"This is a really sad day for the America's Cup and a bad day for sport. Disputes like these should not be settled in court," said British businessman Sir Keith Mills who launched Team Origin in January with his own money.

Mills, who helped London win the 2012 Olympics, blamed Oracle's "greed" and Alinghi's "belligerent spirit" for the failure of both sides to settle their dispute.

"We are of course very disappointed because we were ready for 2009. That was going to be one of our strengths because we started our preparations very early," Team Germany skipper Karol Jablonski told reporters in Berlin.

The last America's Cup in Valencia featured 11 challengers. It was the first time that the event was held at a European port in its 150-year history.