Spanish Football League files lawsuit over dates of 2022 World Cup

People celebrate in front of a screen that reads "Congratulations Qatar" after FIFA announced that Qatar will be host of the 2022 World Cup in Souq Waqif in Doha in this December 2, 2010 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

MADRID - The Spanish Football League (LFP) have filed a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the decision taken by FIFA to host the 2022 World Cup due to be played in Qatar in the middle of the European football season.

The scheduled date of the 2022 World Cup between November 20th and December 18th in order to "avoid high temperatures in the country during the spring and summer," would seriously affect the Spanish season, which along with most major European leagues is played between August and May.

The LFP President, Javier Tebas commented on Sunday that the LFP has submitted three separate reports to the CAS which show that "by moving the World Cup to the winter, we will lose 65 million Euros (around 73 million US dollars)."

Tebas confirmed that leagues such as the Premier League, the BundesLeague and Serie A all supported his move but have so far failed to put their signature on any lawsuits.

"There is still a lot of fear of FIFA," said Tebas, who insisted that "nobody should be scared of filing a lawsuit in order to defend their legitimate rights."

It does appear that the French Football League (LPF) is ready to support the Spanish move after the LPF President Frederic Thiriez said his organization was "ready to support all the legal procedures that can be performed by the leagues against FIFA."

It should be pointed out that the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which is led by angel Maria Villar, has not supported the LFP. VIllar is a Vice-President of FIFA and the relationship between he and Tebas is very bad with both men maneuvering to undermine the other's power and influence.