La Liga president Javier Tebas has called for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to step down, claiming the world governing body is “destroying the football industry”.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, external, the head of the Spanish league also criticised World Cup hydration breaks, the final’s lengthy half-time interval, the postponement of a suspension for United States striker Folarin Balogun, and the future possibility of a 64-team summer tournament.

When asked if Infantino should quit, Tebas said: “In my opinion, yes, I think his time is up.”

However, he stated that the 56-year-old has the support of national federations, and claimed Fifa’s election system is “rotten at its core”.

“There’s no opposition candidate, nobody wants to stand just to lose,” Tebas said.

“He shouldn’t stay, but the current state of affairs means he won’t leave.”

The head of Spain’s top flight was in the US to see his country win the 2026 World Cup.

“These past few days here in America, I’ve heard many people who are against Infantino, who disagree with what he’s doing,” Tebas said.

“They say it, but then they do nothing. I don’t know what’s worse, the silence or the complicity, because those who stay silent are perfectly aware of the damage football is suffering.”

Infantino is expected to be re-elected for a fourth term at Fifa’s March congress, although Tebas believes Infantino could have been brought down as a consequence of his involvement in the case around Balogun.

The 25-year-old US player escaped a suspension for his side’s last-16 tie with Belgium following an intervention from US President Donald Trump.

“The suspension of the American player’s ban was absolutely serious. They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the USA, because otherwise a case could have arisen that might have cost Infantino his job,” Tebas said.

“Since Belgium won, they managed to bury the matter. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg.”

European football’s governing body Uefa criticised Fifa’s decision at the time, calling it “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, and the decision was a factor in the organisation’s president Aleksander Ceferin not attending the World Cup final.

Infantino opened the door to a 64-team global tournament during this year’s event, but Tebas argued that “not everything can revolve around the World Cup”.

“Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense. The football industry isn’t just the World Cup,” Tebas said.

“It’s the national competitions that sustain this sport. They are destroying the football industry, which generates tens of thousands of jobs, for an event that lasts 40 days and involves a minority of players.

“Are the best players there? Clearly, but they are also in our leagues. We need fewer international matches and more protection for national football, at all levels. They don’t realise they are making irresponsible decisions.”

Fifa brought in mandatory three-minute hydration breaks for the World Cup, regardless of conditions, for all matches played at stadiums in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The governing body said they were brought in as a commitment to player welfare, but critics have pointed to broadcasters using the breaks as a way to cash in with commercials.

Meanwhile pop music giants Madonna, BTS, Shakira and Justin Bieber were among the acts to perform in the World Cup final half-time show, which extended the usual 15-minute half-time break to 27 minutes 22 seconds.

“Fifa arranges things as it pleases, for what it wants, for its own interests, certainly not for football,” said Tebas. “So, if they need a 27-minute half-time break, they’ll have it.

“Hydration breaks are a lie. We have them in La Liga, but only when it’s genuinely hot.

“Here, the pitches in Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta had air conditioning; I had to put on a jumper in the stands. It was a lie, a break for advertising.

“It’s proof that we are governed by an institution that does and decides what it wants, when it wants, following only its own interests without considering the rest of football. And in many cases, it acts to the detriment of football.” (BBC)

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