Before a ball has been kicked in FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup, there will already be a cutthroat elimination game courtesy of a bitter legal battle.
Mexican side León earned a place in the 32-team competition beginning in the United States next month but were sensationally booted out by FIFA for breaking ownership regulations.
Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC and Mexico’s Club América will now face off in Los Angeles at 12.30pm AEST on Sunday 1 June to take León’s spot.
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León are part of the same ownership group as fellow Club World Cup qualifier and Mexican club Pachuca, and despite fighting to overturn the decision, they were unable to prove to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that they should be reinstated in the competition.
“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,” the court’s statement said.
FIFA is trying to protect the integrity of the new-look Club World Cup by barring two or more teams being in the same ownership group.
It is a restriction that has been commonplace in UEFA’s European competitions for more than 20 years.
When the issue has been raised in that time, it has typically been solved by management changes at one of the clubs through placing the club into an ownership blind trust.
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Grupo Pachuca, who owns the two clubs, said they were prepared to sell León, but a pre-tournament sale was impossible.
León were excluded from the tournament in March as a result, despite protests that FIFA should follow UEFA’s lead by allowing to put the club in a trust.
Grupo Pachuca said before the appeal: “We are dissatisfied with this decision and will appeal it to the fullest extent possible since all the evidence that proves our administrative independence was presented in a timely and transparent manner.
“We will defend what was won on the field.”
Meanwhile, after the appeal was lost, Club Leon made it clear that the hard feelings would remain.
“The sentence was harsh, the rivals very influential, the pressure intense, and the stakes very high. As a club we assume the consequences, but those who have suffered most along the way have been our people: fans and footballers deserve more respect from an organisation dedicated to promoting sports,” the club said in a statement.
“But from the beginning, no sporting principle existed in this case.”
FIFA’s lawyers rebutted by saying León had still been non compliant when they signed the Club World Cup entry agreement in February.
CAS’ ruling also stated that “FIFA is responsible for designating the final qualified team to participate in the Club World Cup 2025”.
That is how FIFA landed on the one-game playoff between LAFC and Club América.
The victor will be guaranteed at least US$10 million (A$15.4m) of the Club World Cup’s US$1 billion (A$1.54b) total prize pool.
They could win a substantially bigger share of that purse if they can go on a giant-killing run in the tournament.
It is little wonder Costa Rican club Alajuelense made a cheeky bid to take León’s place but that was just rejected by CAS.
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LAFC were awarded a playoff place as they were beaten by León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League final, while Club América were rewarded for being the next best ranked team in the Club World Cup confederation rankings.
The clash in Los Angeles will decide who joins Group D where they will meet English Premier League side Chelsea, Tunisian outfit Esperance and Flamengo of Brazil.
Regardless of who wins out of Club América and LAFC, the winner will technically defy FIFA rules too as there is a cap on two entries per country unless it had more than that many continental champions in the four-year qualifying period.
That is why the English Premier League is only represented by Chelsea and Manchester City courtesy of their respective UEFA Champions League triumphs.
The same goes for La Liga with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid gaining the Spanish slots.
It would look quite odd to have three Mexican clubs or three American teams while the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona are absent.
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LAFC are in the midst of their MLS campaign, which will run concurrently with the Club World Cup.
They are currently on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league and sit fourth in the Western Conference.
The club has also just been hit by the news that Mexico legend Carlos Vera is retiring but they still possess French World Cup winning pair Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud on their books.
Meanwhile, Club América were defeated 2-0 on aggregate by Toluca in the two-leg final of Mexico’s Liga MX earlier this week.
They will have to shake off that loss for a back against the wall performance at LA’s home, BMO stadium.
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FIFA’s chief tournament officer Manolo Zubiria insisted in a media call last week that Club América will not be disadvantaged by the location of the game.
“BMO ultimately presented itself as the best option given the short period of time that we have and we’re happy to play there,” he said on a media call Friday.
“But I can guarantee you that also part of the discussion with the teams is that FIFA’s running the match, FIFA’s basically taking over the building, FIFA’s running the match from the competitions, FIFA’s running the match together with the day of game operations and security of BMO Stadium.
“And both teams have been given equal treatment in terms of inventory for tickets, and we’ve done a great job of separating the two fan sites, but the same conditions were given to both teams.”
LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington acknowledged that despite those measures, “It is obviously [an advantage] for us”.
But he added that it definitely will not feel like a typical LAFC home game.
“If you go back to our pre-season match against América, it didn’t quite feel like a home game in the normal sense for us, given the affinity and the fan base that they do have locally here in LA,” Thorrington said.
“So, while obviously we are grateful that the decision has been made that it is in our stadium, we don’t feel like it will necessarily feel exactly like a home game.”
When asked about being the away team, América president of operations Hector Gonzalez Iñarritu said, “It’s a challenge for us”.
“We are currently taking [a] challenge every Sunday when we visit something here in Mexico or when we play in the Leagues Cup in the USA. It’s the same,” he added.
“We have a lot of fans in California, a million fans in LA, and we hope that we have the support and impact [in the] stadium cheering for América.”
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