2024-07-17 07:40:28
Spain has just won the European Championship, and now the football association has to deal with the next upset. Its new boss is already in serious trouble.
Spain’s football association RFEF will apparently not be able to enjoy the European Championship triumph of Lamine Yamal and Co. for long and will have to cope with the next scandal. According to local media reports, RFEF President Pedro Rocha has been suspended from all functions in Spanish sport for two years by the national administrative court (TAD) for sports affairs.
The court had set a deadline of July 15th, shortly after the European Championship final, for a decision on Rocha’s case. It made full use of this deadline, apparently quite deliberately, so as not to spoil the title celebrations for Spanish football fans, as Spanish sports media reported. Rocha landed at Baraja airport in Madrid with the national team on Monday afternoon, proudly carrying the European Championship trophy in his hand.
Shortly afterwards, the lawyers stepped into the spotlight. They suspended the official and also ordered him to pay a fine of 33,000 euros. For the already scandal-plagued Spanish Football Association, the judge’s decision represents a serious setback in its efforts to restore its reputation. Pedro Rocha had only officially been at the head of the RFEF since the end of April, succeeding the controversial Luis Rubiales.
Rubiales resigned because of the kissing scandal at the Women’s World Cup last year – after refusing for weeks to give in to public pressure and criticism from within his own ranks. Before he was banned from all football activities by FIFA last August, he presented Rocha as his successor. He held the office on an interim basis for eight months before being officially elected in April.
The Spanish authorities are also investigating the association, Rocha and Rubiales in various cases on suspicion of corruption. The investigators are particularly looking into whether the RFEF contracts for hosting the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in recent years were concluded through the payment of bribes. In this context, the authorities are also targeting former world and European champion Gerard Piqué and his marketing company Kosmos.
On Tuesday, the TAD is said to have dismissed Rocha for exceeding his authority. The judges considered it proven that the association boss had abused his power when he fired Secretary General Andreu Camps.
According to information from the specialist magazine “Iusport”, Rocha is said to be considering filing an appeal with the National Sports Council (CSD) in order to remain in office until a decision is made in the appeal process. A stay of suspension would be of great importance for Rocha, because otherwise the president would not be able to stand for election to the RFEF delegates at the next association meeting.
A successor for Rocha is already in place: Maria Ángeles García Chaves is to take over the post of association head on an interim basis. The former football player, who is only 37 years old, was appointed vice president by Rocha in April, and three months later she could succeed him as head of the association, at least for the time being.
Garcia Chaves is described by former colleagues as modest, competent, hard-working and predictable, as reported by “El Periodico”. She has all the qualities “to establish a new era,” the Catalan newspaper quoted an insider as saying.