July 22 – In another scathing attack on the football establishment, LaLiga president Javier Tebas says “the time of FIFA president Gianni Infantino is over” and that the FIFA system is “rotten to its core”.
However, he believes Infantino will still have a job in March 2027 when he is up for re-election.
Speaking to Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, LaLiga’s staunch boss spoke of key issues ranging from the World Cup’s rewriting of the accepted rules of the game, political interference, the exploitation of FIFA member organizations and Infantino’s unbridled power and decision-making despite deep dislike within the national confederations for his management of world football.
Tebas drove home the point that FIFA and Infantino just do what they want regardless of national association membership or the leagues and players that provide them with their wealth.
“FIFA organizes things according to its will, for what it wants, for its interests, not for football. So, if they need a 27-minute break, they will have it. The hydration break is a lie. We have it in La Liga, but only when it’s really hot. Here, the stadiums in Dallas, Losver Angeles, Atlanta had the atmosphere,” said Atlanta. Thebes.
“It is proof that we are governed by an institution that does and decides what it wants, when it wants it, and only follows its interests without considering – I am not even talking about, remember – the whole of football.
The next World Cup will be hosted by Tebas’ country and there are many talks that the final will be expanded by Infantino from 48 to 64 teams. It is a proposition that all South American confederations bar said would be a mistake.
Tebas added to his league’s disapproval. “We have often expressed concern about the calendar. Now they want to have a World Cup with 64 teams,” said Tebas.
“Increasing the number of national teams does not make sense. The football industry is not just the World Cup, which is a very important event. But not everything can revolve around the World Cup. It is the national competitions that support this game. It destroys the football industry, which produces tens of thousands of jobs, in an event that lasts 40 days and involves a few players,” he continued with a few.
“Are the top quality players there? It’s obvious but they are in our leagues. We need fewer national teams and more protection in national football, at all levels. They don’t see, they make useless decisions.”
But it is a system that Tebas says will not change.
“It is difficult because the system has active participants who cooperate with these types of decisions, and inactive participants who are silent, do not speak, and do nothing to prevent certain things from happening again. They criticize the program over coffee in a bar, or on the phone in private conversations, but then they do nothing to end all that,” said Teba.
Asked by Gazzeta if he felt Infantino should leave, the answer was vague.
“In my opinion, yes, I think his time is over. However, he is supported by this system, by the alliances, so there is not much more to add, right? No one opposes, no one wants to stand to lose. This is a system, and it is a rotten system. He should not stay, but the current state of affairs is leaving America. Infantino who does not agree with what he is doing, they say it, but they do nothing, I don’t know what is worse, silence or joining because those who are silent know very well the damage that is there in football,” concluded Tebas.
Contact the author of this story at [email protected]
