"They're destroying the football industry" — that's not a frustrated fan on social media, that's La Liga president Javier Tebas, and he's aiming it directly at FIFA and Gianni Infantino.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tebas didn't just criticise FIFA's direction — he called for its president to go. Asked plainly whether Infantino should resign, his answer was equally plain: "In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up."
The core of Tebas's argument is one that domestic leagues have been making with increasing urgency: expanding international competitions — the Club World Cup, a bloated 48-team World Cup, now talk of pushing to 64 — systematically drains the product that actually funds the sport. "The football industry isn't just the World Cup," he said. "It's the national competitions that sustain this sport." A 40-day tournament, he argues, shouldn't come at the cost of the year-round ecosystem that employs tens of thousands of people and generates the revenue FIFA then harvests.
The Balogun ban that nearly blew everything up
Tebas also landed a pointed shot at FIFA over the decision to postpone Folarin Balogun's one-match suspension — a ban that followed a red card during the World Cup, and was delayed after intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump. For a governing body that likes to position itself above political interference, it was a badly compromised moment.
"The suspension of the American player's ban is an extremely serious matter," Tebas said. "They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the U.S., because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job." Belgium beat the United States 4-1 in the last 16, which made the whole thing quietly disappear. "Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg."
He's not alone in his frustration. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin skipped Sunday's World Cup final entirely, reportedly due to a run of disagreements between UEFA and FIFA over disciplinary procedures, refereeing logistics, and match operations. When the head of European football doesn't show up to the sport's showpiece event, something has broken at the top of the game.
Why nothing will change
Here's where Tebas's critique gets genuinely interesting — and genuinely bleak. He knows Infantino won't go. The FIFA president has already confirmed he'll seek a fourth term, with the vote scheduled for March 2026 in Morocco. And Tebas admits the opposition simply doesn't exist in any meaningful form.
"He shouldn't stay, but the current state of affairs means he won't leave," he 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." National federations, many of them dependent on FIFA's financial distribution model, keep backing Infantino regardless. The critics talk. They don't act.
- Infantino is seeking a fourth term as FIFA president (2027–2031)
- The FIFA presidential vote is scheduled for March 18, 2026, in Morocco
- CONMEBOL's president has called for the 2030 World Cup centenary edition to expand to 64 teams
- UEFA's Ceferin did not attend the World Cup final amid ongoing disputes with FIFA
- Belgium beat the United States 4-1 in the last 16, rendering the Balogun ban controversy moot
"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." That's the system in one sentence — and Tebas knows it as well as anyone.
