Mexican club León's appeal to play in 2025 FIFA Club World Cup rejected by CAS
Liga MX club León has lost its appeal to be reconsidered for the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, it was announced Tuesday. (REUTERS/Henry Romero)
The Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down Mexican club León's appeal to FIFA regarding its entry into the FIFA Club World Cup this summer.
Despite meeting the requirements to qualify for the 32-team tournament, FIFA expelled León from the FIFA Club World Cup lineup in March, as they and another Liga MX club, Pachuca, are both owned by Grupo Pachuca. FIFA rules prohibit clubs with the same owners from competing in the Club World Cup.
On Tuesday morning, the CAS released a statement rejecting León's plea to be reconsidered for the competition, which will start on June 14 in the United States.
The Court Of Arbitration for Sport has rejected Club Leon's appeal to okay in this summers Club World Cup.
It's over.
FIFA as reported will now schedule a 'play off' between Club America of Liga MX and LAFC of MLS later this month. pic.twitter.com/x9xbVYot1i
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) May 6, 2025
"The CAS Panel has issued an Operative Decision dismissing the three appeals and ruled that Pachuca and Club León failed to meet the criteria in the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup Club 2025 (Art. 10.1) concerning multiple club ownership," the release read.
"The Panel examined the evidence, including the Club León trust set up by the owners of the club, and concluded that this trust was insufficient to comply with the Regulations. Consequently, Club León remains excluded from the competition and Pachuca remains qualified. A full CAS Award with reasons for the Decision will be issued in due course.
"A separate appeal by LDA against Club León, Pachuca and FIFA, filed on 3 February 2025, requested that Club León and Pachuca's participation in the Club World Cup was contrary to FIFA regulations and that one of the clubs, or both, should be removed," CAS added. "The appeal also requested that LDA should be admitted to the competition in place of a removed team. This case was heard by CAS in person in Madrid on 23 April 2025 and was also rejected today, with reasons to follow later in the full award."
León and Pachuca both qualified by winning the 2023 and 2024 Concacaf championships, respectively.
Both clubs were placed in different four-team groups during December's draw in Miami despite the glaring ownership issue. León was drawn to play Premier League giants Chelsea in Atlanta, Esperance from Tunisia in Nashville and Brazilian club Flamengo in Orlando.
During a March ruling, FIFA judges stated that the clubs' ownership structure "clearly indicates centralized decision-making under a single authority, which is inconsistent with FIFA's principles of competitive integrity and operational independence."
FIFA is expected to replace León with a playoff game between MLS side LAFC and Liga MX's América.
The Club World Cup will conclude at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 13 and precedes the FIFA World Cup, which will also host its final in the same stadium in 2026.
The tournament will feature teams that won a continental title from 2020-2024 and have consistently won in that period. FIFA also granted Lionel Messi and Inter Miami entry to represent the host country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Cristiano Ronaldo is almost certain he won't play at the Club World Cup
MUNICH (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo says he's almost certain he will not be playing at the Club World Cup, dealing a blow to FIFA president Gianni Infantino's hopes of having one of soccer's biggest attractions at the tournament. The Portugal star confirmed Saturday that he received 'quite a few' offers from participating clubs to play for them at the tournament starting June 14, but had decided against accepting any of them. 'Some things make sense to talk about, other things don't, and, as a person says, you can't take part in everything,' Ronaldo said. 'You have to think about the short, medium and long term. It's a decision practically made on my part not to go to the Club World Cup, but I've had quite a few invitations to go.' 'This is irrelevant right now,' Ronaldo said when first asked about the Club World Cup. 'It makes no sense to talk about anything other than the national team.' ___
NBC Sports
20 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
With wife on bag, 2015 U.S. Junior champ Philip Barbaree returns to U.S. Open
The key to Philip Barbaree qualifying for the U.S. Open? He married his caddie. Well, let's be clear. The 26-year-old Barbaree first met Chloe Lettau in late 2023. Barbaree, a former standout at LSU and USGA champion, was going on three years having not yet made a world-ranked cut. But then he earned status for last year's Canada swing on PGA Tour Americas, and two events in, with Chloe already in Alberta to watch, Barbaree asked her if she wanted to carry the bag. 'I guess,' responded Chloe, who works in medical sales and had no prior golf experience prior to dating Barbaree. That was good enough for Barbaree, who found a stand bag, made it as light as possible and packed some extra snacks. Then he went out and not only made his first cut but tied for 23rd. 'And this has been our thing ever since,' said Barbaree, who married Chloe on March 1. They celebrated their engagement anniversary in May in Peru with a 33-hole day at about 9,400 feet of elevation. It's been a decade since Barbaree defeated Andrew Orishack in the final of the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur, where he stormed back from 5 down with eight holes to play at Colleton River to win in 37 holes. 'It one sense it feels like forever ago, and in another it feels like yesterday,' Barbaree says. He enrolled a semester early at LSU in Spring 2017, was teammates with Sam Burns and turned pro a semester early, halfway through his fifth year, in November 2020. In between, he posted the fourth lowest scoring average in Tigers' history along with eight top-5 finishes. After his sophomore season, he qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he shot 82-79 and beat just two players, Michael Block and Scott Gregory. 'I do feel like my game and my mind are leaps and bounds better than they were in 2018,' Barbaree said. Much of that strength came through failure. Barbaree saw just nine starts – and no weekends – on major tours in his first three years as a pro, as he cut his teeth mostly on the mini-tours. He'd be lying if he said he didn't think about changing careers during that first year. In fact, after moving back home to Shreveport following a brief stint in Dallas, Barbaree took a part-time job working for his dad, Phil Sr., who owns Superior Grill, a Mexican restaurant chain that also has locations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. He lasted just a couple shifts. 'I started at the bottom,' Barbaree recalled. 'Bussing tables, setting tables, having to take in outside furniture. I got sick, I cut my finger, and after a couple long nights I said, I'm not cut out for this. I gotta get back out playing.' Barbaree has always been a prolific putter, and last year he made some improvements with his ball-striking after he started working with Chad Darby, who teaches out of the David Toms Academy in Shreveport. He's done a little bit of offseason speed training with long-driver Jack Smith as well. Barbaree's mental strides can mostly be attributed to Chloe, who now splits her time caddying for her husband and selling CPAP machines. 'Her not being a golfer has probably helped,' Barbaree said. 'She picks up different things than people who are. If I'm being indecisive, she'll realize it and tell me. Somebody who might play golf might try to rationalize it. She'll go, 'Well, it just seemed like you were in between clubs a lot and thinking about it more than usual.' … I feel like we always figure out little things to do better every week. 'And I definitely feel like I enjoy playing golf as much as I ever have.' Barbaree, who is ranked No. 1,000 in the world on the dot, is coming off his best finish on PGA Tour Americas, a T-3 showing in Bogota, Colombia, at the Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship, which was shortened to 36 holes because of weather. His U.S. Open final qualifier last Monday in West Palm Beach, Florida, was also affected by storms. He was 1 over after 10 holes before rallying to card a first-round, 3-under 69 at Emerald Dunes. Then he birdied four of his first five holes of the second round before play was suspended for the day. He returned to fire a closing 64 and share medalist honors at 11 under. Now, the question is, will Chloe have to carry a tour bag around Oakmont? 'Absolutely not,' Barbaree said with a laugh. He knows the U.S. Open is as much a test of endurance, both physically and mentally, as it is an examination of all 14 clubs. Seven years ago, he wore himself out playing practice rounds and arrived on the first tee that Thursday gassed. He also understands how crucial it is to keep Chloe on the bag. Said Barbaree: 'We're not breaking up the team any time soon.'
Hamilton Spectator
23 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Cristiano Ronaldo is almost certain he won't play at the Club World Cup
MUNICH (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo says he's almost certain he will not be playing at the Club World Cup, dealing a blow to FIFA president Gianni Infantino's hopes of having one of soccer's biggest attractions at the tournament. The Portugal star confirmed Saturday that he received 'quite a few' offers from participating clubs to play for them at the tournament starting June 14, but had decided against accepting any of them. 'Some things make sense to talk about, other things don't, and, as a person says, you can't take part in everything,' Ronaldo said. 'You have to think about the short, medium and long term. It's a decision practically made on my part not to go to the Club World Cup, but I've had quite a few invitations to go.' Ronaldo was speaking in Munich a day before Portugal's Nations League final against Spain. 'This is irrelevant right now,' Ronaldo said when first asked about the Club World Cup. 'It makes no sense to talk about anything other than the national team.' ___ AP soccer:
