One More Reason I Don't Watch Soccer

This seems awfully heavy-handed to me...

Chile's spot at the 2010 World Cup is safe after a local club withdrew legal action that had drawn the ire of FIFA and put the nation's status in international football at risk.

FIFA had given Chile's football association (ANFP) 72 hours to make Rangers drop a court case that disputed their relegation from the Clausura championship, or else risk a FIFA suspension and the prospect of forfeiting their World Cup berth.

Rangers took action after they were docked three points for fielding one too many foreign players under the Clausura's 6+5 rule. This consigned them to automatic relegation, but their dispute caused the play-offs for relegation and promotion, plus the championship's semi-finals, to be put on hold.

FIFA strictly forbids any government or civil interference in football matters, and wrote to ANFP demanding the situation be resolved. This ultimatum has proved enough for administration-struck Rangers to back down.

I won't pretend to understand international soccer. But it seems just wrong for a powerful international organization to claim they're beyond the reach of a court system, even one with parochial interests. The two issues seem utterly unrelated.