Latest news with #EduardoCarlezzo
New York Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Mexico's promotion, relegation battle: Clubs in suit allege federation retaliation
The attorneys for the second-division Mexican clubs that filed a claim in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week against the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and Liga MX remain committed to their fight to re-incorporate promotion and relegation next season, despite one Liga Expansión club dropping out of the battle. Advertisement Club Atlante, perhaps the most recognized Liga Expansión team along with Club Morelia, removed itself from the appeal process on Monday. That same day, Liga MX held its annual owners meeting in which the CAS claim was expected to be discussed. Several theories about Atlante's sudden retreat have added a new twist to what is expected to be a contentious litigation process. Complicating matters, despite the Liga Expansión clubs demanding that pro/rel be reinstated next season, FMF has since insisted the mechanism has remained attainable – via a series of criteria – ever since the federation technically halted the process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney Eduardo Carlezzo, whose firm is representing the nine Liga Expansión clubs, also claims that FMF has responded to the suit by retaliating against those involved. 'The clubs are exhausted; they have reached the end of the tunnel,' Carlezzo told The Athletic in a statement on Wednesday. 'Mexican football urgently needs renovation to restore credibility, and last week's actions by the federation show exactly how they have behaved over the years. As soon as we submitted an appeal to CAS, the FMF withheld a monthly payment due to the clubs since 2020 as compensation for being unable to be promoted. This is pure revenge! These are significant sums that will impact some clubs' finances. We are now analyzing all legal actions available to us to fight against these threats.' On Wednesday, a separate statement reviewed by The Athletic cited conflicts of interest and a 'legal simulation' by the FMF and Liga MX officials, in addition to several chief concerns about the future of promotion and relegation in Mexico. Those concerns include the influence of multi-club ownership in Mexico and a tendency among Liga MX officials to favor a permanently closed system, similar to MLS. When pro/rel was paused in Mexico due to the pandemic, the FMF created a fund that would help Liga Expansión clubs financially. Advertisement 'The FMF General Assembly approved this temporary suspension to protect the economic stability of the clubs,' FMF's secretary general Íñigo Riestra said in response to the CAS claim. On May 21, the FMF said on its official X account that, 'Promotion remains active through certification. A club will be promoted once at least four clubs are certified at the start of the season and one of them wins the (Liga Expansión) Campeón de Campeones' match. The requirements that second-division clubs were expected to meet include sporting, infrastructure and administrative improvements that FMF would then review before granting promotion to Liga MX. That certification process is ambiguous, though, per the attorneys representing the nine Liga Expansión clubs. Coincidentally, Atlante's Estadio Ciudad de Deportes, which does not currently meet the federation's first-division requirements, was used as the home field for Club América during last week's Liga MX final vs. Toluca. América's home stadium, Estadio Azteca, is currently under renovation. 'The 'certification for promotion' argued by the FMF is nothing more than a legal simulation to disguise the fact that there is no real commitment to return promotion and relegation,' the statement reads in part. 'And it scares us that the FMF's Secretary General (Iñigo Riestra) comes out to defend a phantom procedure that has not even been applied this year.' Riestra countered last week by saying that 'half-truths' had been told and that it was important for the federation to tell its side of the story. 'The competition was suspended during the 2019-2020 season but it wasn't because of this agreement (with Liga Expansión), but rather because of the effects of the pandemic,' Riestra said in a video statement. 'It was the Liga Expansión clubs who requested financial support in order to avoid bankruptcy. … That's why on April 20 of 2020 the federation's general assembly authorized the temporary suspension of promotion and relegation for six seasons.' Advertisement The attorneys for the second-division clubs cite 'a concentration of power' within the hierarchy of the FMF and Liga MX that prevents those clubs from having any real influence over their futures. Liga MX president Mikel Arriola is also a presiding commissioner and executive president of the FMF. Arriola is also the current president of Liga Expansión. Riestra's brother José, is the former president of Club Atlas, which is owned by Grupo Orlegi, an organization that also owns Liga MX side Santos Laguna. José Riestra is now the head of football of Orlegi Sports, a division of Grupo Orlegi, and one of four multi-club ownership groups in Mexico. That, the nine clubs argue, is 'a conflict of interest that no one seems to question.' 'Multi-ownership is allowed despite being expressly prohibited by Article 5 of its bylaws,' Wednesday's statement reads. 'The FMF statute grants Liga MX the power to define the president of Liga Expansión. Additionally, we do not have the capacity to influence decisions in Mexican Football (when we have) barely 5 percent of votes in the General Assembly.' The original CAS claim that was filed on May 19 also cited the ongoing debate in Mexico regarding multi-club ownership and its impact on Mexican football. 'The concentration of eight first-division clubs in the hands of four ownership groups represents a significant distortion to the Mexican football ecosystem,' reads the claim. It goes on to allege that multi-owned clubs can be 'incentivized to act in a coordinated manner' to benefit the groups that they represent. This, the claim says, is 'a detriment to fair competition.' Carlezzo said that the Liga Expansión teams have until Thursday to present their arguments to CAS with the required substantiation. FMF will then be notified by CAS and an official hearing could be scheduled within two to three months.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mexican clubs file suit against Liga MX to resume promotion/relegation
According to The Athletic, 10 second-division clubs in Mexico have filed a claim on Monday with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Liga MX and the Mexican Football Federation (FMF). According to court documents, the 10 clubs from Mexico's Liga Expansión are demanding the return of promotion and relegation ahead of the 2025-2026 season. Mexico paused promotion and relegation for six seasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the court filing alleges that the federation have not 'formally committed' to reinstating promotion and relegation as the six-year pause comes to end in June. 'The clubs are fighting to improve the system as a whole and to provide basic rights for all clubs across the country,' Eduardo Carlezzo, the lawyer representing the 10 clubs said this week. 'It is absurd and nonsensical to oppose the return of promotion and relegation to Mexican football. Only one club would be promoted and one relegated. In Brazil, for example, four clubs are promoted and relegated every year. In Spain, Italy, France and England, three clubs (are relegated).' Furthermore, an anonymous executive from the league did not mince his words in hitting out at the lack of a true promotion and relegation system, and other issues in Mexican football. 'In Mexican football there are monopolistic practices and corruption where several (clubs) get together and vote against a free market, established guidelines, statutes and agreements,' he said. 'We have to clean up football and work together. We began to realize that there were people who were not going to keep their word and that's when we began this process.' 📸 Hector Vivas - 2024 Getty Images
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mexican clubs file suit against Liga MX to resume promotion/relegation
According to The Athletic, 10 second-division clubs in Mexico have filed a claim on Monday with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Liga MX and the Mexican Football Federation (FMF). According to court documents, the 10 clubs from Mexico's Liga Expansión are demanding the the return of promotion and relegation ahead of the 2025-2026 season. Advertisement Mexico paused promotion and relegation for six seasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the court filing alleges that the federatio not 'formally committed' to reinstating promotion and relegation as the six-year pause comes to end in June. 'The clubs are fighting to improve the system as a whole and to provide basic rights for all clubs across the country,' Eduardo Carlezzo, the lawyer representing the 10 clubs said this week. 'It is absurd and nonsensical to oppose the return of promotion and relegation to Mexican football. Only one club would be promoted and one relegated. In Brazil, for example, four clubs are promoted and relegated every year. In Spain, Italy, France and England, three clubs (are relegated).' Furthermore, an anonymous executive from the league did not mince his words in hitting out at the lack of a true promotion and relegation system, and other issues in Mexican football. Advertisement 'In Mexican football there are monopolistic practices and corruption where several (clubs) get together and vote against a free market, established guidelines, statutes and agreements,' he said. 'We have to clean up football and work together. We began to realize that there were people who were not going to keep their word and that's when we began this process.' 📸 Hector Vivas - 2024 Getty Images
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Athletic: Liga Expansión clubs take FMF to CAS
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. Ten clubs from Liga Expansión MX have filed a lawsuit against the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and Liga MX with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), demanding the return of promotion and relegation for the 2025-2026 season. Advertisement The legal action was prompted by the lack of a formal response from the FMF, just a few months before the end of the six-year pause imposed during the pandemic. According to documents obtained by The Athletic, the clubs involved —including Atlante, Morelia, Leones Negros, and Venados— argue that they need clarity to plan investments, infrastructure, and broadcasting rights. The FMF claims that the pause began in 2020-2021, so the return of the system would not occur until 2026-2027. Attorney Eduardo Carlezzo, who represents the clubs, called it "absurd" to oppose the return of promotion and relegation, pointing out that other countries manage this system with multiple clubs every year. Additionally, Liga MX executives are accused of promoting a closed system in the style of MLS, harming second-division teams. Advertisement A key meeting of owners is scheduled for May 26, where the debate may be revisited. Meanwhile, the lawsuit also cites violations of FMF statutes that guarantee the automatic right to promotion, generating a new conflict in Mexican football. 📸 Leopoldo Smith - 2025 Getty Images
