‘His time is up’: La Liga head urges Infantino to resign, says FIFA ‘destroying football industry’

La Liga president Javier Tebas has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to resign, saying the world football's governing body is damaging the sport through tournament expansion and controversial decision-making.

In an interview with Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tebas was asked whether Infantino should step down. “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.”

Infantino announced in April that he would seek re-election for a fourth term as FIFA president. The vote for the 2027-2031 cycle is scheduled to take place in Morocco on March 18 next year.

Tebas said Infantino continues to enjoy strong backing from national federations despite growing criticism from within the sport.

“He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave,” Tebas 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.

“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.”

Tebas also denounced FIFA's handling of United States striker Folarin Balogun's one-match suspension during the World Cup.

Balogun's ban, imposed after he received a red card, was postponed following the intervention of US President Donald Trump. The issue became moot after Belgium eliminated the United States with a 4-1 victory in the round of 16.

“The suspension of the American player’s ban is an extremely serious matter. They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the US, because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job,” Tebas said.

“Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg.”

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Belgium

Tebas also renewed his opposition to expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams. His remarks came as debate continues over the future size of the tournament after CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez repeated calls to expand the centenary edition in 2030. Infantino has previously said a 64-team format could be considered.

Tebas said that further expansion would undermine domestic competitions, which he said are the foundation of the sport.

“Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense,” Tebas said. “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’re destroying the football industry, the one that generates tens of thousands of jobs for an event that lasts 40 days and only a minority of players attends.”

The dispute comes amid broader tensions between FIFA and European football authorities.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin did not attend Sunday's World Cup final following disagreements with FIFA over disciplinary procedures, refereeing logistics and match operations, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter cited by Reuters on Tuesday.

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