Determined to put an end to the umpteenth crisis shaking the Football Federation (RFEF), at the center of an investigation for corruption a few months after the forced kiss scandal, the Spanish government announced Thursday its placement under supervision “in the interest » of the country, future co-organizer of the 2030 World Cup.
“The Spanish government adopted this decision to redress the serious situation in which the RFEF finds itself so that the entity can begin a stage of renewal in a climate of stability,” declared Thursday the Superior Sports Council (CSD), a body dependent on the Ministry of Sports.
Concretely, “a supervision, standardization and representation commission” created by the CSD and led by “independent personalities” will exercise “supervision of the RFEF during the coming months”, in “the interest of Spain”, future organizer of the 2030 World Cup jointly with Portugal and Morocco, specifies the press release.
According to the Spanish press, former coach Vicente del Bosque, world champion in 2010, should be part of it.
The exact contours and prerogatives of this “mixed commission” nevertheless remain to be defined, because the sports federations must be independent of their governments.
In a joint statement, FIFA and UEFA indicated that they were following “the situation surrounding the RFEF closely and with great concern”, to ensure that this commission does not affect “its independence”.
The RFEF, like the FFF in France, responds to the two authorities, which are the only ones able to intervene in its internal affairs, as was the case when FIFA decided to suspend Luis Rubiales after the former president of the Spanish Federation forcibly kissed world champion Jenni Hermoso last August.
“Very serious faults”
Already shaken by this scandal, which led to the resignation of Rubiales and the dismissals of several leaders, the RFEF is now at the center of a corruption investigation in which the former strongman of Spanish football and his interim successor at the head of the Federation, Pedro Rocha, are indicted.
The Administrative Court of Sport (TAD) also estimated, in a recent report, that the former vice-president of Rubiales and his interim management had committed “very serious” mistakes by making decisions going beyond beyond their skills.
It was this report that led to the decision taken on Thursday, a few days before presidential elections scheduled for May 6, for which Pedro Rocha is the only candidate.
While the Spanish press mentioned a possible sanction against him, the latter should thus be able to be officially elected but not be completely free in his choices, which will now be supervised.
Juicy Saudi contracts
This episode follows the shocking searches carried out last month at the headquarters of the Federation, the Olympic stadium in Seville and the homes of Luis Rubiales in Granada and the Dominican Republic, as part of an investigation into corruption.
This case concerns irregularities in the contracts signed by the RFEF over the last five years, during the presidency of Luis Rubiales, including the lucrative contract concluded to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Since 2020, the Saudi kingdom has hosted the semi-finals and the final of this competition for some 40 million euros per year as part of an agreement in which the Kosmos company of former FC Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué served of intermediary.
Recordings of conversations between Luis Rubiales and Gerard Piqué were released in 2022 by the press. We hear the two men talking about commissions of several million euros.
Already threatened with two and a half years in prison for sexual assault, the former Spanish football boss is accused in this case of money laundering, commercial corruption, unfair administration and membership in a criminal organization.
He will have to appear in court on Monday.