Liga MX clubs Pachuca and León on Friday both filed separate appeals before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIFA for ruling Club León out of the 2025 Club World Cup due to the tournament’s multi-ownership rules.
FIFA last week drew up plans to hold a one-game playoff between Club América and LAFC to determine a replacement team for León at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Those plans would remain on hold until CAS resolves the appeals.
León was removed from the Club World Cup on March 23 when FIFA ruled that its inclusion would violate competition rules preventing two clubs with the same owner from taking part in the tournament. León is owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also owns fellow Liga MX side Pachuca.
Costa Rican side Liga Deportiva Alajuelense has been the most vocal against the participation of both Pachuca and Club León in the Club World Cup, reporting the multi-ownership case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport back in February.
CAS announced a hearing would be held on April 23 for both León and Alajuelense to present their arguments. Alajuelense alleges that León’s participation would violate the FIFA regulations and they argue that should receive a spot in the tournament instead.
Both clubs had until April 2 to gather legal documentation before presenting arguments on the 23rd. No plans of a replacement will be announced until each legal case is resolved.
CAS on Friday confirmed via statement that “Pachuca and Club León filed appeals seeking to annul the decision by the FIFA Appeal Committee and declare that the clubs comply with the Club World Cup eligibility requirements. Club León filed an additional appeal against the decision by the FIFA Secretary General to be reinstated in the competition.”
The CAS said that both the Pachuca and León appeals would be heard on May 5.
The two Grupo Pachuca clubs originally qualified to the competition by winning separate editions of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The 32-team Club World Cup is set to begin on June 14, with the final being held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on July 13.
