Source: REUTERS/Sam Navarro
[Saba Sports News] Earlier, Inter Miami defeated New England Revolution 6-2, setting a points record and securing first place in the MLS regular season. Gianni Infantino also announced on-site that Inter Miami qualified for the Club World Cup. According to British media reports, Inter Miami’s competitors are very unhappy with FIFA’s decision. Infantino stated that Inter Miami qualified because they won the regular season championship. However, the MLS champion must still be determined through the playoffs. Moreover, this standard was not announced before Inter Miami secured their title; other MLS competitors accused FIFA of lacking clear qualification standards. They pointed out that FIFA announced this in advance just to ensure Lionel Messi’s participation. FIFA discussed qualification standards with MLS this season and decided at the board meeting on October 3 that the Supporters’ Shield champion (regular season champion) would qualify, which was just a day after Inter Miami secured their title. MLS insists that all decisions regarding the final spot were made by FIFA. Other clubs have always felt that Inter Miami received special treatment due to their star players, but such claims have been denied.