mass is $M = 1426.4 \pm 0.9$ MeV and its width $\Gamma = 54.9 \pm 2.6$ MeV. Its dominant decay mode is $K \bar K^*$. In Ref. [@Armstrong:1984rn] 100% of the width is associated to the $K \bar K^* + \mathrm{c.c.}$ mode. In Ref. [@Armstrong:1992hm] other modes are also searched for, with negative results, concluding again that the $K \bar K^* + \mathrm{c.c.}$ channel exhausts the decay width. In Ref. [@Achard:2007hm] the authors also conclude that the $f_1(1420)$ decays into $K \bar K^* + \mathrm{c.c.}$ 100%. In Ref. [@Barberis:1998by] the decay mode $\pi a_0(980)$ is reported with $\Gamma(\pi a_0(980))/\Gamma(K \bar K^* + \mathrm{c.c.}) = 0.04\pm0.01\pm0.01$. In this latter paper a clean peak is seen for the $f_1(1285)$ in the $\pi a_0(980)$ mode, followed by a broader structure around 1400 MeV with much smaller strength, that is tentatively associated to the $f_1(1420)$, with the comment “The shoulder at 1.4 GeV can be interpreted as an $a_0(980) \pi$ decay mode of the $f_1(1420)$” with no devoted work to support this assertion. A discussion on mesons in the 1400 MeV region can be seen in the PDG review [@PDG:Amsler].

In the present work we shall provide a different explanation of the experimental findings, 