FIFA President Infantino Responds to James Rodríguez Over Club León Exclusion
James Rodríguez made headlines last week after publicly criticizing FIFA for excluding Club León from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The Colombian star called the decision “a major injustice” and questioned the motives behind it. Now, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has offered a direct response to the midfielder's comments.
On March 21, FIFA officially ruled that León and Pachuca violated Article 10.1 of the Club World Cup regulations due to shared ownership by Jesús Martínez Patiño. As a result, León was disqualified from the tournament, despite earning qualification through sporting merit. James voiced his discontent, saying: “This isn’t fair. There’s a big interest behind who gets in. The fans spent money, the club did everything right on the field. This feels wrong.”
Infantino defended the process: “The FIFA Appeal Committee made its decision according to the rules. Now the case moves to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will make a final ruling soon because we need clarity for the 32 teams.”
He emphasized that the CAS verdict will determine the next steps: “Once that decision is made, we’ll proceed accordingly. Everything has to be settled in the coming hours so we can provide certainty for all participating clubs.”
Facundo Trotta Arrieta
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