Comment on the club World Cup: The Club Léon is only a symptom of a much bigger problem that comes to football

JAmes Rodríguez is the carrier of a very special football award. No, not World Cup goalkeeper king, other things have already managed to do that. He also got the official prize for the most beautiful goal of the year, a breast template volley. Pretty hit. But above all, Rodríguez is the only player to silence Thomas Müller. In 2018 it was Rodríguez back to Madrid with FC Bayern on the occasion of the Champions League semi-final and the Spanish press was therefore so electrified that it asked an entire press conference to the Kolombian in various variants, which was brilliant under Jupp Heynckes, whether he could not imagine coming back. Rodríguez was borrowed from Real to Munich at the time. Thomas Müller sat next to him, listened to the simultaneous translation and did not have their say. Unique.

Rodríguez, still only 33 years old, has been tingling through the world of football since then, as well as under Heynckes he no longer became until last summer. Then he was the old one at Copa América, led his team to the final, and was elected to the tournament in front of a certain Lionel Messi. Rodríguez, you can say that much is a name in world football. A name that pulls. A name that fills stadiums. But he will not be allowed to play at the club World Cup. FIFA has thrown out its club, the Club Léon from Mexico.

The decision is surprising and not surprising at the same time. Surprisingly, because the World Association is allowed to interpret your own rules in favor of prominent players, well, creatively. Lionel Messi’s club Inter Miami was more or less given the starter permit out of pleasure. And the ticket sales for the tournament Apparently runs rather slow in some places. It is not surprising because it was already clear when the qualification was clear that the Club Léon would be a problem.

The background is the ownership. Léon and the also qualified Mexican club CF Pachuca both belong to the “Grupo Pachuca”, according to the regulations However, no legal or natural person is allowed to exercise “control or influence” to more than one participant. The club LD Alajuelense from Costa Rica, which, surprise, could be the first successor, had complained, the decision should remain. It’s about a lot of money. Léon immediately announced an appeal, those responsible believe that they did everything to become independent of Pachuca. FIFA has not published an exact reason.

UEFA has so far encountered the problem with more or less convincing requirements for unbundling

The fact that a group or a person has an impact on several football clubs, which then also compete against each other, is a spreading problem. In Europe it affects Red Bull (Salzburg and Leipzig), the City Group (Mancity and Girona), Ineos (Manunited and Nice) and many more. In summer, the series is probably expanded by Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos Piraeus, both are on the Champions League course, both belong to the Greek Evangelos Marinakis.

Europe’s Football Association UEFA has so far encountered the problem with more or less convincing editions for unbollection. Red Bull is officially only the main sponsor in Salzburg, Girona was only allowed to take part in the Champions League because the club has outsourced shares to a trustee. How much competitive integrity is really preserved is a matter of interpretation, club chairman in Girona is, for example, Pere Guardiola, brother of PEP.

Football has pushed the problem of the “Multi Club Ownership”, according to the technical term, in front of them like a student, the annoying housework, and now it could be too big for a simple solution. The UEFA itself has stated that it is a persistent trend in world football and from the perspective of the owners the advantages are also obvious: scouting, transfers, financial flows, everything is easier with more than one club. FC Bayern also feels under pressure to follow the trend.

The Léon case is now a prominent on the world stage, more will follow. Football needs clear and transparent rules to master this problem, preferably immediately, preferably uniform. Otherwise, not only the constellations, but also the ownership relationships, will soon have to be displayed before some games. Although that would sometimes be very useful. In any case, what the club World Cup is now happening without a clear regulations: then it is no longer just on the pitch, but in the courtroom. And that cannot be interested in anyone.