Disqualified Team Slams FIFA President Gianni Infantino Over Club World Cup Controversy | OneFootball

If you thought Liga MX's Club León would accept FIFA's decision to disqualify them from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup quietly and without a fight, think again.

Club León's dreams of competing in the inaugural, new-look Club World Cup seemingly came to an end after FIFA disqualified the side because it's owned by Grupo Pachuca, the same organization that owns fellow Liga MX side and 2025 Club World Cup participant, CF Pachuca.

León filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as a last ditch effort to keep their place in the competition. FIFA must wait for CAS's ruling to appoint a replacement club, but soccer's governing body is already making public plans to find said replacement.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that if CAS rules in their favor, the plan is for LAFC and Club América to play a playoff match to decide who fills León's vacant spot.

The public statements didn't sit well with León's manager Eduardo Berizzo, who in the aftermath of his team's loss to Cruz Azul in Liga MX, took time out of his post-match press conference to unleash on FIFA and Infantino.

"I won't discover anything describing the leaders of an organization that's totally under suspicion of irregularities. I though they were [Infantino's comments on possible replacement clubs] reckless, unnecessary and convenient," Berizzo said. "FIFA's president can't express himself on possible replacements without waiting for CAS's ruling, his words carry a lot of weight.

"If the world was the way I'd want it to, people like that [Infantino] wouldn't lead organizations like this one [FIFA]. FIFA must prove it's an organization with integrity and it's not. In the past it hasn't been," Berizzo added.

Berizzo also questioned the decision to disqualify León, the playoff proposal and even Inter Miami's induction into the tournament.

"Makes it seem like there's an arrangement, hidden interests to determine which teams go, which teams don't go, why teams go, why teams don't go," Berizzo said. "Whilst there's no clarity, transparency, they [FIFA] will always continue to be under suspicion."

On the impending CAS ruling, Berizzo made a point to say, "Hopefully CAS won't be conditioned by opinions like the president's [Infantino] that are totally out of place. A person with integrity would've waited for CAS's ruling."

León's manager concluded his attack on FIFA saying, "We live in football [soccer], in organizations and institutions that instead of representing transparency and being an example to citizens, they always make us be more suspicious and they make us feel small. In a sport [soccer] where everyone should feel backed and feel proud to be a part of it, sometimes it makes you want to run away."

The wait is on to find out what CAS's ruling will be.