La Liga President Javier Tebas has lambasted the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino, calling for his immediate resignation.
In a recent interview with Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport, Tebas didn’t mince words: Infantino needs to step down. His time at the helm is over.
While the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a box office smash, drawing a whopping 6.81 million spectators, it wasn’t without its fair share of controversies.
The most glaring issue was the perceived favoritism towards Team USA. U.S. striker Folarin Balogun saw red for a reckless challenge in the Round of 32, but FIFA’s decision to suspend his ban for a year allowed him to suit up against Belgium in the Round of 16.
The plot thickened when news broke that former President Donald Trump had reached out to Infantino. This prompted the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) President Aleksander Čeferin to voice his displeasure and boycott the World Cup final.
Tebas didn’t hold back, stating that the suspension of Balogun’s red card was a major scandal. FIFA dodged a bullet when Belgium won. A different result could have cost Infantino his job.
The La Liga chief also took aim at the controversial hydration breaks – three-minute pauses in each half supposedly for player welfare – and the extended 27-minute halftime show in the final.
The player breaks were a smokescreen, Tebas argued. It was nothing but a ploy for more ad time. Some venues even had air conditioning running, making these breaks pointless.
He added that the bloated halftime show was pure profit-driven decision-making by FIFA, completely disregarding the sport itself.
Tebas also slammed discussions about expanding the World Cup field post-tournament. With the dust barely settled on this 48-team edition, there’s already chatter about a potential 64-nation tournament in four years.
He stressed that soccer can’t revolve solely around the World Cup. The domestic leagues are the lifeblood of the sport. Tebas vehemently opposed the 64-team format, warning it would “devastate the entire soccer industry for the sake of one event.