La Liga president Javier Tebas said FIFA president Gianni Infantino should resign, accusing the governing body of “destroying the football industry” by expanding international competitions at the expense of domestic leagues and clubs.
Tebas has repeatedly criticised FIFA over fixture congestion and plans to further enlarge the World Cup.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, when Tebas was asked if Infantino should quit, he said: “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.”
Infantino said in April that he would seek re-election for a fourth term as FIFA president, with the vote for the 2027-2031 cycle scheduled to take place in Morocco on March 18 next year.
Asked about growing criticism of Infantino’s leadership, Tebas said the FIFA president retained strong support among national federations despite concerns within the game.
“He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave,” Tebas said.
“There’s no opposition candidate; no one wants to run to lose. This is the system, and it’s a system that’s flawed from the ground up.
“I’ve heard a lot of people against Infantino, who don’t agree with what he’s doing. They say it, but then they don’t do anything.”
Tebas also questioned FIFA’s decision to postpone the one-match ban given to United States striker Folarin Balogun following a red card during the World Cup. The decision was made after the intervention of U.S. President Donald Trump. Belgium beat the United States 4-1 in the last 16.
“The suspension of the American player’s ban is an extremely serious matter. They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the U.S., because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job,”
“Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg.”
EXPANSION OF WORLD CUP
His comments come amid growing tensions within soccer’s governing structures.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin did not attend Sunday’s World Cup final following a series of disagreements between European soccer’s governing body and FIFA over disciplinary procedures, refereeing logistics and match operations, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
