🚨 Javier Tebas blasts FIFA over the Balogun case! | OneFootball

LALIGA president Javier Tebas has launched a very sharp criticism of FIFA following the lifting of the sanction imposed on American footballer Folarin Balogun.

For the Spanish executive, this decision is not an isolated mistake, but the "tip of the iceberg" of a governance model that seriously undermines the credibility of world football.

Tebas laments that the rules are changed as needed and that key decisions are made without consulting the national leagues.

He argues that it is these local competitions that truly keep professional football going throughout the year, since the vast majority of clubs and players do not take part in international competitions.

"When rules are systematically applied arbitrarily, trust disappears," the president said, criticizing the international organization's lack of transparency.

He also described FIFA congresses as mere "staged displays of unanimity" where no real debate takes place. Tebas concluded by lamenting the "complicit silence" of a large part of the football world, which favors comfort over defending good governance and institutional independence.

The full statement

"The lifting of the suspension of American player Balogun is neither a mere anecdote nor an isolated mistake. It is, quite simply, the tip of the iceberg of a governance model that has been undermining the credibility of FIFA and football in general for many years.

When rules can be interpreted or changed at will; when the most far-reaching decisions are made without real dialogue or agreement with the national leagues — even though they are the ones that keep professional football alive 365 days a year (the vast majority of professional clubs and players do not take part in international competitions); when a unilateral agenda is imposed without listening to football’s main stakeholders, the problem stops being a specific decision and becomes the system itself.

FIFA congresses are grand displays of unanimity, without any real debate, where decisions are already a foregone conclusion before voting even begins. There are no agreements with the national leagues; decisions are approved there that constantly harm them.

The Balogun case only reinforces this perception; it is only the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, if rules are systematically applied arbitrarily, trust disappears. And without trust, there is no institutional credibility.

Worse still, a large part of the football world is aware of this, but far too many people prefer to keep a complicit silence. Because staying silent is more comfortable than defending independence, transparency, and good governance.

World football deserves institutions that are accountable, respect the rules, and operate with full transparency — not through unilateral, discretionary, and arbitrary decisions... that undermine the trust of fans, clubs, leagues, and players."

This article was translated into French by artificial intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

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