La Liga president Javier Tebas just straight-up called for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to step down, declaring the world governing body is “destroying the football industry.” This isn’t some quiet whisper, folks, this is the head of Spain’s top league blowing the whistle loud and clear, and if you care about the beautiful game, you need to hear this.
Infantino’s FIFA: “Rotten at Its Core?”
Tebas held nothing back in an interview, ripping into the World Cup’s mandatory hydration breaks, the ridiculously long half-time show at the final, the fishy postponement of a suspension for US striker Folarin Balogun, and the scary thought of a 64-team summer tournament down the road. When asked if Infantino should pack it up, Tebas’s answer was blunt: “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.”
But here’s the kicker: Tebas admits Infantino has the national federations’ support, claiming Fifa’s election system is “rotten at its core.” He’s right, too, when he says there’s no real opposition candidate, nobody wants to stand just to lose. So, while Infantino shouldn’t stay, the current setup means he’s probably not going anywhere. Tebas, fresh off seeing his own country win the 2026 World Cup in the US, heard plenty of people talking against Infantino, but they stay silent. That silence or complicity, Tebas warns, is making things worse, as everyone knows the damage football is suffering. Infantino is expected to cruise to re-election for a fourth term this March, which is just wild.
The Balogun Fiasco and the Industry Under Attack
Tebas thinks the whole Balogun situation was a chance to take Infantino down. The 25-year-old US player somehow ducked a suspension for their last-16 clash against Belgium, and get this, it was after US President Donald Trump intervened. Tebas called the suspension’s postponement “absolutely serious,” saying Fifa got lucky when Belgium knocked out the USA, otherwise, it could have been a career-ender for Infantino. “Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter,” Tebas said, but he believes it’s “just the tip of the iceberg.” Even Uefa slammed Fifa’s decision, calling it “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” which explains why their president Aleksander Ceferin skipped the World Cup final.
And what about that crazy idea of a 64-team global tournament? Infantino opened the door to it, but Tebas isn’t having it. “Not everything can revolve around the World Cup,” he argued. Pumping up the number of national teams just doesn’t make sense. The football industry isn’t just one tournament; it’s the national competitions that keep this sport alive, generating tens of thousands of jobs. Fifa, Tebas insists, is “destroying the football industry” for a 40-day event that only involves a few players. We need fewer international matches and more protection for national football at every level. “They don’t realise they are making irresponsible decisions.”
Those mandatory three-minute hydration breaks? Fifa pushed them for “player welfare,” but critics immediately saw them as a chance for broadcasters to cash in on commercials. And that World Cup final half-time show, featuring Madonna, BTS, Shakira, and Justin Bieber? It dragged the usual 15-minute break to an epic 27 minutes and 22 seconds. Tebas sums it up perfectly: “Fifa arranges things as it pleases, for what it wants, for its own interests, certainly not for football. So, if they need a 27-minute half-time break, they’ll have it.”
It’s clear Tebas believes Infantino’s time is up, and he’s not alone. But with an election system described as “rotten” and so many powerful figures staying silent, what’s it gonna take for true change at the top of world football?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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