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La Liga president Javier Tebas has called for Gianni Infantino to leave his job as FIFA president as he slammed “a system rotten at its core.”
Infantino, who has helmed soccer’s governing body since 2016, courted widespread controversy this summer with a number of incidents surrounding the 2026 World Cup. These include, but are not limited to: his supposed cozying up to U.S. President Donald Trump, high ticket prices and the enforced hydration breaks which essentially changed matches from having two halves to four quarters.
Despite the backlash, FIFA is expected to announce record revenues of $15 billion from this summer’s World Cup, while Trump described the tournament as “one of the greatest events of any kind ever held.”
Speaking in the wake of Spain’s World Cup final triumph, La Liga president Tebas has come out as a high-profile detractor of Infantino, suggesting the 56-year-old should lose his job as soccer’s top administrator.
Tebas: ’Infantino Should Go’
In a candid interview with Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport following the tournament’s conclusion, Tebas was not shy in his criticisms of Infantino and the FIFA system.
Asked if the FIFA president should step down as a result of the damage he has caused to soccer, Tebas replied: “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.
“However, he has the support of the system, of the federations, so there’s not much more to add, is there? There's no opposition candidate; nobody wants to stand just to lose. This is the system, and it's a system rotten at its core. He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave.
“These past few days here in America, I’ve heard many people who are against Infantino, who disagree with what he’s doing. They say it, but then they do nothing. I don’t know what’s worse, the silence or the complicity, because those who stay silent are perfectly aware of the damage football is suffering.”
Tebas Calls Hydration Breaks a ‘Lie’
Tebas also railed against the introduction of hydration breaks, which he described as being used to push advertising.
“FIFA arranges things as it pleases, for what it wants, for its own interests, certainly not for football,” he said.
“So, if they need a 27-minute halftime break, they’ll have it. Hydration breaks are a lie. We have them in La Liga, but only when it’s genuinely hot. Here, the pitches in Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta had air conditioning; I had to put on a jumper in the stands. It was a lie, a break for advertising. And then there was the Balogun case.”
Asked about Infantino and FIFA’s potential plans to expand the World Cup even further, with a 64-team tournament mooted for 2030, Tebas was equally forthright.
He said: “Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense. The football industry isn’t just the World Cup, which is the most important event. But not everything can revolve around the World Cup. It’s the national competitions that sustain this sport.
“They are destroying the football industry, which generates tens of thousands of jobs, for an event that lasts 40 days and involves a minority of players. Are the best players there? Clearly, but they are also in our leagues. We need fewer national teams and more protection for national football, at all levels. They don't realize, they are making irresponsible decisions.”
Could Infantino Be Replaced As FIFA President?
While Tebas is far from the only critic of Infantino, the incumbent FIFA president is highly likely to continue in his job for a fourth term, having first assumed power 10 years ago after taking over from Sepp Blatter.
Infantino will stand for re-election in March next year at the 2027 FIFA Congress in Morocco, with no challenger currently in the picture.
Candidates must be put forward by November, while The Guardian reports that Infantino “has the formal endorsement of more than 200 FIFA members [out of 211]” despite the scandals that have plagued the World Cup and his presidency.
Interestingly, the DFB (German Football Federation) and DBU (Danish Football Federation) have since confirmed that they didn't sign the letter supporting Infantino, while it was reported that UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin boycotted the World Cup final after a breakdown in relations with FIFA.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘His Time Is Up’—Gianni Infantino Receives Rare Dressing Down for World Cup Scandals.
