Rafael Louzán took charge of Spanish Football this Monday. For how long?
In the turmoil since the affair of the “stolen kiss” of its ex-president Luis Rubiales to the player Jenni Hermoso, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), on Monday elected Rafael Louzán as new leader for the period 2024-2028.
Louzán, 57, president of the Galicia federation (north-west), was elected against his Valencia counterpart Salvador Goma, by 90 votes to 43, during a vote in the General Assembly, announced the RFEF in a press release. But Louzán’s mandate could turn out to be brief: sentenced in particular to a ban on holding public office after being found guilty of prevarication while he headed another public body, he is awaiting a decision on appeal from the Supreme Court.
Pedro Rocha also in turmoil
If necessary, he could then become the fourth consecutive president of the RFEF to be removed from office. The Spanish football federation no longer had a president since the suspension on July 16 of Pedro Rocha, accused by the Administrative Court of Sport of having exceeded his duties by dismissing the then general secretary of the federation, Andreu Camps.
Pedro Rocha, also implicated in a corruption case, was elected to the presidency in April to replace Luis Rubiales, dismissed from his position for having forcibly kissed the player Jenni Hermoso after the team’s coronation of Spain during the Women’s World Cup in August 2023. The gesture of Mr. Rubiales, who succeeded Ángel María Villar, dismissed after a corruption scandal, had caused a wave of indignation in Spain and in abroad, forcing him to resign the following month.
It will earn the former boss of the federation a trial for sexual assault, scheduled for February 3 to 19, 2025 in Madrid. The prosecution, which presents its submissions before the trial in Spain, requested a prison sentence of two and a half years for Luis Rubiales: one year for sexual assault and one and a half years for “coercion”, for the pressure exerted on the player for her to affirm that the kiss was consensual. .
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