The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today rejected an appeal by Mexican football club Leon against a decision by the International Football Federation (FIFA), and Leon will not participate in the upcoming Club World Cup, which is being held in the United States next month.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that it had rejected Leon's attempt to challenge FIFA's decision, which excluded the club from the tournament because it is in the same ownership portfolio as another participant in the competition - Mexican club Pachuca.
FIFA had previously ruled that the rule on joint ownership of clubs had been violated. Leon and Mexico's Pachuca secured a place in this year's Club World Cup in the United States, but they have the same owner, the Pachuca group.
The emergency decision came just a day after the hearing, giving Fifa the green light to organize a playoff match between Los Angeles and another Mexican team, Club America, to complete the list of participants for the tournament that begins on June 14.
Leon was previously drawn in a group with Chelsea (match in Atlanta), Esperance of Tunisia (Nashville) and Flamengo of Brazil (Orlando).
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