December 17 – Rafael Louzan has been elected president of the Spanish FA (RFEF) after more than a year of turmoil at the scandal-ridden body following the downfall of former chief Luis Rubiales and his right-hand man Pedro Rocha.
Louzan, 57, beat Salvador Gomar at the Spanish FA general assembly in a two-way race following the last-minute withdrawal of Sergio Merchan.
Rubiales has been the target of a corruption investigation and is due to stand trial in February for sexual assault over his unsolicited kiss of Jenni Hermoso that made worldwide headlines after Spain won the 2023 Women’s World Cup, prompting a global backlash, his resignation and a FIFA ban for three years. Rocha, who briefly succeeded him, was handed a two-year ban for irregularities.
Louzan, too, has had legal problems that could plague the RFEF’s hopes of starting with a clean slate.
In May 2022, he was found guilty of malfeasance in a case involving a contract to improve a football pitch in the city of Morana. Although he was cleared of fraud charges, the sentence barred him from holding public office for seven years. Louzan has denied wrongdoing and appealed, which allowed him to run for RFEF presidency. The Supreme Court is due to hear the appeal on February 5.
Despite Louzan’s own legal case, he prevailed in the vote on Monday, aiming to unify Spanish football and recover the federation’s prestige before co-hosting the 2030 World Cup.
Louzan represents the Galician Football Federation and has been a member of the RFEF’s executive committee since December 2019.
His win was widely predicted due to his adept networking, particularly with LaLiga president Javier Tebas.
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