Mexican football club Leon has been disqualified from the Club World Cup after the International Football Federation (FIFA) appeals committee upheld a decision that the rule on joint ownership of clubs had been violated.
Leon and Mexican Pachuca secured a place in the World Cup in the USA, but they have the same owner - the Pachuca group.
"After reviewing all the evidence, the chairman of the FIFA appeals committee decided that CF Pachuca and Club Leon did not meet the criteria for multiple ownership of the clubs," FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA added that it will be announced later who will replace Leon in the global club competition.
Before the decision was announced, the Pachuca group claimed that the clubs functioned independently, and a sale of Leon was promised, which has not yet been realized.
The Pachuca group stated that they will appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"We are not satisfied with this decision and will appeal as much as possible because all evidence confirms our administrative independence. We will defend what has been won on the ground," the Pachuka group added in a statement.
Leon recently signed Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez to be more competitive in Group D of the Club World Cup, where they play Brazil's Flamengo, Esperance of Tunisia and Chelsea.
The participation of two clubs with the same owner was called into question after the reaction of Costa Rican club Alajuelense, which asked FIFA to apply the banning rule.
Four teams from the North American, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Confederation (CONCACAF) qualified for the Club World Cup: Seattle, Monterrey, Leon and Pachuca, while Inter Miami received an invitation from FIFA.
The Club World Championship, which will feature 32 teams for the first time, will run from June 14th to July 13th.
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