La Liga to sue FIFA!

La Liga to sue FIFA!

The Spanish football league is has launched legal action against FIFA over the football governing body's decision to move the staging of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to November-December in order to avoid the high summer temperatures in the Gulf state.

FIFA announced in March that Qatar 2022 would be played between November 20 and December 18 in order to avoid the high temperatures during the summer, rejecting a joint proposal from the European Club Association and Association of European Professional Football Leagues to stage the 2022 World Cup between May 5 and June 4.

Javier Tebas, president of Spain's La Liga, confirmed this week the Spanish football league has filed an appeal against the FIFA decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Spanish sports newspaper AS quoted Tebas, who is a trained lawyer, as saying the move is “in defence of the interests of the clubs that are contributing to the international teams.”

He also claimed three independent reports concluded the league would lose €65 million ($72 million) as a result of FIFA's decision to stage the event in winter.

Tebas has called on fellow European leagues in Germany, Italy and France to support the legal action. “They haven't dared to sign the agreements. There is still much fear of FIFA," he said. “Using legal channels when there is difference of opinion is what civilised people do. No-one should be afraid to resort to legal action in order to claim their legitimate rights, but there are those who are still afraid.”

France’s Professional Football League has already backed the action and issued a statement saying it is "ready to support any legal action against FIFA.... We must defend the interests of all clubs and not just those who give players to national teams.”