Something unprecedented in history.

According to Marca (Spain), the organizers of top European leagues such as the English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and FIFPRO Europe, a branch of the global players' association (FIFPRO), have joined the lawsuit. FIFPRO Europe and other leagues claim that FIFA did not adequately consult them on the new schedule before announcing it in March 2024, leading to an overloaded schedule. The culmination of this was FIFA's launch of the FIFA Club World Cup, featuring 32 teams and held every four years.

Besides the disruption to European league schedules, players have also been directly affected by the excessive number of matches. A host of stars such as Rodri and De Bruyne (Man City), goalkeeper Alisson (Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), and most recently Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) have been sidelined due to injuries. At the end of September 2024, many players even declared their readiness to strike against FIFA. They all shared the same complaint: "We're exhausted."

FIFPRO Europe uses players' statements to denounce FIFA.

The plaintiffs stated in their complaint: “This complaint denounces FIFA for abusing its dominant power, imposing decisions on a packed international schedule, and violating European Union law. FIFA should have performed its functions transparently, objectively, indiscriminately, and proportionally to neutralize its conflicts of interest. Therefore, we consider bringing this case before the European Commission a necessary step to protect European football.”

Notably, this is the first time in history that footballers have expressed their frustration by officially filing a lawsuit against FIFA. Premier League CEO Richard Masters emphasized: "It's reaching a critical stage. The feedback we're receiving from players is that we need to play more matches and the leagues are constantly expanding. Players are insisting that striking is a last resort. At the same time, legal action could just be the beginning of a fight for the future of football.”

FIFA is gradually exhausting the players.

The Independent newspaper argues that increasing the number of matches has brought FIFA a lot of profit. However, this has also directly pushed players to their physical and mental limits.

The British newspaper analyzed: “FIFA is a non-profit organization but it is hungry for money and cannot stop creating tournaments. FIFA announced that it earned £5.8 billion in the last four World Cup cycles: from 2019 to 2022, an increase of more than £1 billion compared to the previous period despite the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, FIFA has set an astonishing target of £8.4 billion for the current cycle.”

FIFA generates the majority of its income from selling World Cup television rights, in addition to advertising, ticket sales, branding, and licensing. However, it's hard to sympathize with an organization whose corruption entry on Wikipedia is longer than a 5,000-word article. FIFA has accused European leagues of hypocrisy, but here they are the ones being unreasonable.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino affirmed that FIFA is still on the right track.

FIFA maintains its position.

Despite the criticism, FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that FIFA's actions are reasonable and consistent with the organization's mission. He shared: “FIFA organizes about 1% of the matches of the world's best clubs. 98-99% of the matches are organized by various leagues, associations, and federations. The revenue we generate is not just in one country but in 211 countries worldwide. No other organization does that, and we stand by our position.”

At the same time, the head of FIFA also spoke about complaints regarding the schedule: “Currently, the FIFA Council unanimously approves it. The FIFA schedule is the only tool that ensures international football can continue to exist and thrive.”

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/fifa-chinh-thuc-bi-kien-vi-lam-dung-quyen-luc-dieu-chua-tung-co-trong-lich-su-185241015005654323.htm