LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Mexican soccer club León lost its appeal against FIFA at sport’s highest court on Tuesday and will not play in the Club World Cup next month in the United States.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges rejected León’s attempt to overturn being removed by FIFA from the 32-team tournament for being in the same ownership group as another Club World Cup entry, Pachuca.
“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 said in a statement.
The urgent ruling one day after the appeal hearing will let FIFA organize a planned playoff game — between Los Angeles FC and another Mexican team América — to complete the lineup for the tournament that starts on June 14.
León was drawn in a group to play Chelsea in Atlanta on June 16, then Esperance from Tunisia in Nashville, and Flamengo of Brazil in Orlando.
FIFA judges excluded León in March for a breach of tournament integrity rules that prohibit two or more teams being in the same ownership group.
León and Pachuca qualified for the Club World Cup by respectively winning the 2023 and 2024 editions of the CONCACAF championship.
Their owner, Grupo Pachuco, said it was prepared to sell one of the clubs to comply with FIFA rules but that it was not possible before the tournament started.
FIFA lawyers argued that despite the intention of León’s owners, they still had not been compliant with rules when signing a Club World Cup entry agreement in February.
A separate and long-shot appeal by Costa Rican club Alajuelense to replace León was incorporated into the overall case and also rejected on Tuesday, CAS said.
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The Associated Press
