La Liga's first man: Fifa organizes things as it suits them, for their own interests, and they keep quiet about a lot

The president of the Spanish football league La Liga, Javier Tebas, has sharply criticized FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino for the way the 2026 World Cup is being organized, accusing the world football organization of making decisions solely in its own interests, to the detriment of football.

Tebas, upon returning from the United States, where he followed the World Cup, stated in an interview with "La Gazzetta dello Sport" that the refreshment breaks during the matches were "pure farce".

"FIFA organizes things as it suits them, for their own interests, not for football. If they need a 27-minute break, they will take it. The hydration breaks were a farce. In the stadiums in Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta, the air conditioning was working, I had to wear a sweater in the stands. It was not a break due to the heat, but an advertising block," Tebas said.

The head of the Spanish league believes that FIFA is abusing its position and that many in football are keeping quiet instead of opposing such policies.

"FIFA only cares about its own interests. There are active accomplices who support such decisions and passive ones who remain silent. They criticize the system over coffee or in private conversations, but they do nothing to change it," Tebas pointed out.

He particularly highlighted the case of the pardon of US national team player Folarin Balogan, assessing that it was a very serious precedent.

"They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the United States. Otherwise, a scandal would have erupted that could have cost Infantino his job. Everything has been covered up like this, and that's just the tip of the iceberg," Tebas said.

The La Liga president also reiterated criticism of the increasingly crowded international calendar, saying that the idea of ​​expanding the World Cup to 64 teams makes no sense.

"We have been warning about the calendar problem for years, and now they want a World Cup with 64 teams. That makes no sense. National championships sustain the football industry and provide tens of thousands of jobs, while the World Cup lasts only 40 days and involves a small number of players," Tebas said.

Finally, he said that he believes the time has come for Infantino to step down as head of FIFA.

"Infantino should go. His time is up, but he has the support of the system and the national federations. Nobody wants to run against him because they know they will lose. It's a flawed system from the very beginning. In the US, I've heard a lot of people who disagree with him, but no one is doing anything. I don't know what's worse, silence or complicity," Tebas concluded.