Star Metro - Spanish football chief to keep job after appeal granted

NYSE - LSE

CMSC	-0.31%	21.275	$
CMSD	-0.47%	21.16	$
BCE	-0.43%	23.49	$
JRI	-0.32%	12.44	$
VOD	-1.19%	15.94	$
RYCEF	2.01%	20.85	$
NGG	-0.79%	80.53	$
RBGPF	0%	71.13	$
AZN	-2.04%	166.27	$
BCC	-1.38%	79.94	$
GSK	-1.24%	51.43	$
RELX	-1.53%	35.34	$
BTI	1.69%	57.44	$
BP	-0.85%	42.5	$
RIO	-2.02%	104.7	$

Spanish football chief to keep job after appeal granted

SPORTS 06.02.2025

Spanish football chief to keep job after appeal granted / Photo: OSCAR DEL POZO - AFP

Spanish football federation (RFEF) president Rafael Louzan will remain in his post after the country's Supreme Court on Thursday granted his appeal against a sentence which banned him from holding public office.

Text size:

Louzan was elected federation chief in December 2024 on a four-year mandate despite having been banned from holding public office for seven years by a Spanish court.

The 57-year-old was convicted during his tenure as president of the Pontevedra Provincial Council in 2022 for his involvement in awarding a contract to improve a football pitch in the town of Morana, when most of the work had already been completed.

"We must absolve Rafael Louzan (and others) of the crime of administrative prevarication of which they were accused," said the Supreme Court in a verdict seen by AFP.

The court's decision is positive news for a federation embroiled in turmoil for years, with Louzan's three predecessors all forced to step down because of involvement in legal cases, including Luis Rubiales, currently on trial for his forcible kiss on Jenni Hermoso.

Angel Maria Villar was ousted in 2018 after having been suspended the year prior, when he and his son were arrested on suspicion of corruption, among several other accusations.

He was followed by Rubiales, who resigned in disgrace in September 2023 after worldwide outrage at his kiss, which Hermoso says she did not consent to.

Rubiales was followed by Pedro Rocha, who was suspended for overstepping his duties once he arrived on an interim basis, before he was elected.

Spanish sports minister Pilar Alegria criticised the RFEF earlier Thursday.

"The image the football federation has transmitted has not been particularly positive or constructive," she told TVE.

"If we look back, the last few presidents of the football federation have all finished up because of court cases... I don't think the fans deserve this."

Despite the institutional chaos, Spain's men team won Euro 2024 while the women's team lifted the 2023 World Cup.

Spain are set to co-host the 2030 men's World Cup along with Portugal and Morocco.

A.Desjardins--SMC

Featured

Ruthless Bayern target treble as rivals reboot on Bundesliga return

Bayern Munich have vowed to pick up where they left off last season, targeting the treble, while their outclassed Bundesliga rivals have undergone a reboot to try and cut the gap.

Euro champ Hunt 'on her toes' against world's best in Zurich 100m

Amy Hunt left the European championships with four gold medals after winning both sprint titles and picking up two further relay golds.

UEFA set to withdraw FIFA boycott threat ahead of Champions League draw

Thursday's draw for this season's Champions League has been somewhat overshadowed by the latest developments in the dispute between UEFA and FIFA over plans to bring private financing into the World Cup, with European football's governing body expected to drop a threatened boycott of global competitions.

Sumo moves to beat Japan summer heat as temperatures rise

Sumo chiefs are planning measures to beat Japan's increasingly punishing summer heat, including avoiding venues that don't have air conditioning and lightening the load on weary wrestlers.