Gianni Infantino narrowly avoided being forced out as FIFA president during the 2026 World Cup and is now “nearing the end” of his reign, according to La Liga chief Javier Tebas.
The outspoken president of the Spanish league says football’s global governing body only escaped a major political and sporting scandal because Belgium knocked the United States out of the tournament in the last 16.
His comments centre on a controversial FIFA disciplinary U-turn that allowed US forward Folarin Balogun to face Belgium, despite a 12‐month suspension initially handed down after he was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32.
Trump call, FIFA reversal – and a heavy US defeat
The row erupted when FIFA’s disciplinary committee decided to suspend the execution of Balogun’s one-year ban, clearing him to play in the knockout tie against Belgium.
Before that reversal, US president Donald Trump had intervened personally, phoning Infantino over the case. After the call, the disciplinary body stepped back from enforcing the suspension, making Balogun available for coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Balogun featured, but it did not change the outcome. The United States were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Belgium, crashing out of the tournament and, in Tebas’s view, sparing Infantino from a potentially career-ending crisis.
Speaking to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tebas said: “The suspension of the American player was a very serious matter. They were lucky that Belgium eliminated the United States, because if the opposite had happened there would have been a case that might have cost Infantino his position.”
IOC complaint over political neutrality
The controversy did not end with the on‐field result.
Infantino faced further scrutiny after a formal complaint was lodged with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), accusing him of breaching the principle of political neutrality in his handling of Trump’s intervention.
Infantino has been a member of the IOC for six years, a role that requires strict adherence to rules on political independence. However, despite the complaint, he will not face any sanctions from the Olympic body over the affair.
Even so, Tebas believes the episode has added to mounting pressure on the FIFA president and signalled the beginning of the end of his tenure.
“In my opinion yes, I think his time is over,” Tebas said. “There is no opposing candidate, because no one wants to run just to lose. He should not continue, but the current situation means he will not leave.”
Tebas attacks 64-team 2030 World Cup plan
Tebas also launched a fierce attack on a FIFA proposal to further expand the World Cup in 2030, increasing the number of participating national teams from 48 to 64.
Infantino and FIFA vice-president Alejandro Dominguez have both expressed openness to examining the idea, which would represent another major enlargement of the tournament.
Tebas argued that such an expansion shows a dangerous disregard for the wider football economy and its dependence on domestic competitions.
“Increasing the number of national teams makes no sense,” he said. “The football industry is not just about the World Cup, it relies fundamentally on local competitions that maintain the continuity of the game. They are destroying an industry that provides tens of thousands of jobs for the sake of a tournament that lasts only 40 days and involves a limited number of players.”
He continued: “The best players are in the World Cup, but they also play in our leagues. We need fewer international matches, and more protection for domestic football at all levels. Unfortunately, they do not realise they are taking irresponsible decisions.”
More matches, more groups, more strain
Under the 64‐team concept, the World Cup would feature 16 groups of four teams, removing the option for third‐placed sides to qualify and keeping the round of 32 as the first knockout stage.
The 2026 edition already set a record with 104 matches following its previous expansion. If FIFA approves the 64-team format for 2030, the number of games would surge to 128.
For Tebas, that trajectory is unsustainable – and emblematic of what he sees as a leadership that has lost touch with the needs of clubs, leagues and players, even as it clings on at the top of world football.
