James Rodriguez says Club Leon expulsion from Club World Cup a ‘grave injustice' from FIFA

New York Times

28-03-2025

James Rodriguez has described FIFA's decision to exclude Liga MX side Club Leon from the Club World Cup as a 'grave injustice'.
Rodriguez made the comments at an impromptu press conference on Friday, where he and team-mate Andres Guardado criticized FIFA over their decision.
Last week FIFA announced that Leon was not eligible to play in the inaugural 32-team competition this summer after failing to meet FIFA's multi-club ownership criteria.
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Leon is owned by Grupo Pachuca, one of Mexico's most influential ownership groups. Grupo Pachuca also controls CF Pachuca, another Liga MX side that qualified for the Club World Cup.
FIFA's Appeal Committee determined last Friday that the clubs had 'failed to meet the criteria on multi-club ownership defined under' the regulations for the Club World Cup. Leon qualified for the tournament by winning the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2023.
'I think it's a grave injustice,' said Rodriguez. 'We all believe that. We won on the pitch. The club and the players are hurt by this. Thinking about this, if we're out, it's not fair. The team that would replace us would be stained, football would be stained. So many fans have planned to travel to the tournament, how do you tell them that they can't go?'
'I have a lot of questions about all this,' Rodriguez continued. 'It's odd. I think FIFA has to get their things together. Football is stained by this.'
Guardado, 38, who is the Mexico national team's most capped player, signed with Leon in 2024 after a long career in European football. He's among Mexico's most respected sporting figures. On Friday, he took aim at FIFA's decision, suggesting that the sport's governing body and its president Gianni Infantino, mishandled the situation and misled Leon. Guardado referred to FIFA's decision as 'a brutal injustice.'
'If someone made a mistake it was FIFA, not Leon,' Guardado told reporters on Friday. 'The ones in the wrong are FIFA, because multi-club ownership and Grupo Pachuca have always existed. When did (Grupo Pachuca) acquire Leon? Many years ago. And so now both Pachuca and Leon will participate in a tournament that FIFA has endorsed but FIFA doesn't inform Grupo Pachuca that if their teams qualify, they won't be able to participate.'
'Then (FIFA) makes up a rule after the fact that says the teams can't participate. So it's FIFA who has messed up here. And on top of that, they invited us to the draw, created advertising for us and Infantino welcomed us (to the competition).'
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Leon's veteran central defender Jaine Barreiro, 30, joined Rodriguez, Guardado, and Leon manager Eduardo Berizzo on Friday. He said that since receiving news that Leon had been kicked out of the Club World Cup, the team's focus had been affected.
'It's been hard on us,' Barreiro said. 'Personally it's been very tough for me. We won the right on the field and now FIFA wants to take it away. The best thing is for Leon to be there competing. We're anxious to see things work out for us.' Guardado reiterated that same sentiment. 'I'd be lying if I said the news hasn't hurt the team,' he said.
Berizzo was more measured during the 30-minute press conference at the club's facility. He repeated several times that FIFA's decision to remove Leon from the tournament was 'hasty,' and that Leon and its legal team still had time to rectify the situation. He was hopeful that Leon would receive good news and once again be part of the Club World Cup field this summer in the U.S.
'We trust that the final resolution will allow us to play in the Cup,' Berizzo said. 'We earned it on the field. It's dignified to defend that privilege. I believe that we're facing an exemplary situation from FIFA and the TAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) should provide the club its right to compete (in the tournament). We haven't infringed on any law and the competition has not started. It's in two months and a solution can be found if it's understood that Grupo Pachuca falls within the multi-club ownership (structure).'
'There's time to resolve this and FIFA should investigate all 32 teams that will participate to make sure they're not similarly affected,' he continued. 'I think removing us from the Club World Cup was hurried, not just unfair, but hurried because a solution can be found.'
After FIFA's ruling last week, pundits in Mexico suggested that Rodriguez would leave Leon and potentially sign with another club that is qualified for the Club World Cup. On Friday, Rodriguez squashed those rumors.
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'I'm staying here. I'm very happy here,' he said. 'We can't lose focus on what's happening at the club. I have a one-year contract and I'm going to honor it until the final day. Fans should not worry. I'm very happy here whether we play in the Club World Cup or not. That won't affect whether I want to be here or not.'
Rodriguez described Leon's exclusion from the tournament as a situation that he had never encountered. He said that when he signed with Leon in January, club officials told him that Leon would participate in the Club World Cup. It was a deciding factor in his decision to join the Mexican club. 'This is new to me. This has never happened to me,' Rodriguez said. 'You're in a World Cup and then suddenly they tell you you're out.'
'There's something behind this,' he added. 'I don't know what it is. If another team replaces us, football will be stained. FIFA needs to really study this situation. It's a complicated situation. FIFA has to give answers here. Fans should stay calm and expect things to work out. I can't comment entirely. I could say a lot of things but I shouldn't.'
When asked to elaborate, Rodriguez answered bluntly.
'In the world of football there are entities who rule very strongly,' he said. 'You can see how they manage football and why they're not positive (for football). Hopefully FIFA is on top of this and will do something about it. It's not fair to select another team.'
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