Why Was Mexican Club Leon Disqualified From The FIFA Club World Cup?
Mexican club Leon has been banned from competing in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, which is set to be held in the United States. The ruling was announced on Friday, citing the club’s multi-ownership as the reason for its disqualification.
Along with Leon, another Mexican club, CF Pachuca, also failed to meet the criteria related to multi-club ownership. Both teams are owned by Grupo Pachuca. While León qualified for the tournament by winning the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2023, Pachuca secured the title last year.
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However, Costa Rican side Liga Deportiva Alajuelense filed a complaint with FIFA in November, citing the “eligibility principles” of the competition and requesting the right to participate in the Club World Cup. Following this complaint, disciplinary proceedings were initiated against both Mexican clubs, and the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee later referred the case to FIFA’s Appeal Committee.
“After evaluating all the evidence on file, the chairman of the FIFA Appeal Committee has decided that CF Pachuca and Club León failed to meet the criteria on multi-club ownership,” FIFA said in a statement.
As a result, the football governing body decided to remove Mexican club León from the competition. A replacement for Leon will be announced soon, though FIFA has not yet clarified the specific details of the multi-club ownership criteria.
The competition’s regulations include several stipulations regarding ownership, such as prohibiting any club in the tournament from being involved in the management, administration, or sporting performance of another club or from holding shares or securities in another participating club.
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Reacting to the decision, Club León expressed its disapproval and stated that it would appeal to the sport’s highest courts if denied a place in the Club World Cup.
For now, one thing is clear, as the competition approaches, much is at stake in the inaugural edition of the expanded 32-team tournament.
