The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, has called for Gianni Infantino to step down as Fifa president, accusing the world governing body of “destroying the football industry” with irresponsible decisions. In a blistering interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tebas said: “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.”
Tebas, speaking after the 2026 World Cup, criticised proposals to expand the 2030 tournament from 48 to 64 teams. “Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense,” he said. “The football industry is not just the World Cup. It is national competitions that support this sport. They are making irresponsible decisions.” He also attacked World Cup hydration breaks, calling them “a lie … it was a break for advertising”, and the lengthy half-time interval in the final.
“La Liga president Javier Tebas calls for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to quit, accusing Fifa of 'destroying the football industry'.”
Although Tebas believes Infantino should quit, he admitted the 56-year-old has the support of national federations. “There’s no opposition candidate, nobody wants to stand just to lose,” Tebas said. “The system is rotten at its core. He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave.” Infantino is expected to be re-elected for a fourth term at Fifa’s March 2027 congress.
Tebas pointed to the controversy over USA striker Folarin Balogun as a moment that might have brought Infantino down. Balogun’s one-match ban was suspended by Fifa’s disciplinary committee after a phone call from US President Donald Trump to Infantino, allowing him to play in the last-16 tie against Belgium. “The suspension of the American player’s ban was absolutely serious,” Tebas said. “They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the USA, because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job.” Uefa called the decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, and its president Aleksander Ceferin did not attend the World Cup final as a result.
Tebas, who was in the US to see Spain win the 2026 World Cup, said he had heard many people oppose Infantino. “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.”