—- FIFA has welcomed a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in its row with the Spanish league over player release for South American qualifying ties in the 2022 World Cup.
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Sport’s supreme court has rejected LaLiga’s request to overturn FIFA’s extension of the international window for the South American ties by two days to make up for time and matches lost earlier this year to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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FIFA reiterated that is had approved an original request from South American confederation CONMEBOL “after consulting all relevant stakeholders and after taking into account all relevant circumstances, in particular, the challenges created by the Covid pandemic and especially health considerations for players.”
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On Wednesday, in the face of resistance from player release by clubs in several major European leagues, FIFA president Gianni Infantino called for a show of solidarity from all associations, leagues, and clubs, “to do what is right and fair for the global game.”
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A FIFA statement after the CAS decision said: “We now expect the release of players for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers in South America to occur in accordance with the recent FIFA decision, the legality and legitimacy of which has today been recognized in today’s CAS ruling.”