Scandalous unions are “supervised” by the Spanish government

The scandalous kiss, corruption and prosecution for sexual abuse.

Now the Spanish football association is to be “supervised” by the country’s government to deal with all the scandals.

On Thursday, the Spanish government announced that the country’s football federation (RFEF) will be “monitored” so that renewal work can begin.

A commission, to be led by independent people, will be appointed and monitor the association in the coming months.

Scandals in Spanish football have followed each other in recent years. During the medal ceremony after Spain’s women’s World Cup gold medal last summer, then confederation president Luis Rubiales kissed star Jennifer Hermoso, against her will, on the mouth.

Left after the kiss

He resigned in September of the same year, but has been prosecuted on suspicion of sexual abuse and illegal coercion. The former confederation captain Jorge Vilda, the Spanish men’s national team’s sporting director Albert Luque and the confederation’s former marketing manager Rubén Rivera have also been charged. The trio is suspected of pressuring Hermoso to say the kiss took place with the player’s consent.

Rubiales is also part of an investigation into suspected corruption and suspected money laundering during his time as a football base.

The suspected crimes relate to, among other things, irregularities surrounding the Spanish Super Cup outsourced to Saudi Arabia. The settlement is said to give the Spanish Football Association income of around SEK 450 million per tournament.

Was fined

In March, Spanish police carried out a raid on the association’s premises on the outskirts of Madrid, and Rubiale’s home in Granada has also been searched. Other employees of the union are also being investigated for corruption – two of them were fired in March.

Earlier this year, the association was also forced to pay a fine. This is because the Spanish authorities found during an inspection that there were no guidelines for dealing with sexual harassment, which is stipulated by law.

Spain is expected to host the 2030 men’s World Cup alongside Morocco and Portugal, with some matches in South American Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Formally, the decision is made by Fifa at the end of 2024.