The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Víctor Francos, has announced this Friday that he will suspend Luis Rubiales from his functions as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), if the Administrative Court of Sport (TAD) “so deems appropriate” and determines that he has committed “a very serious offense”.
“Rubiales has said that he was not resigning, we convey to him, with all the institutional respect that he deserves, that the path of this Government towards the presidency of the RFEF today has ended. The Government today begins the procedures so that Rubiales has to give explanations before the TAD, and if he considers it appropriate, we will suspend Rubiales from his duties as president of the RFEF,” Francos advanced during a press conference.
From the Government Sub-delegation in Tarragona, Francos confirmed that the CSD will raise this afternoon “a substantiated complaint before the TAD”, so that the court “can assess whether what has been committed is a very serious offense” and the Law has been breached of sport. “If we consider it so, we will be able to assess whether this very serious offense implies the suspension of Rubiales,” he reiterated.
“The Government has decided to act on its own initiative, with a substantiated complaint of its own, taking into account the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Seriously, the start of the process deserves, we will immediately convene the CSD board of directors,” he added.
Francos was “very clear and very forceful”, assuring that Rubiales “has not been up to the task”. “Neither what was expected, nor what the players and the Government expected, nor what society expected. Rubiales has disappointed in his reaction, he has not done what he should, we consider that the explanations he has given again It does not correspond to their attitudes”, he stated bluntly about Rubiales’ speech in the RFEF Assembly.
For the Secretary of State for Sport, the meeting held this Friday in Las Rozas, “far from resolving and calming the context”, what it has done is “inflame the controversy, reaffirm the idea that it had to take more steps”. “Rubiales has aggravated the situation, the government is not going to be impassive,” Francos asserted.
“We are going through a complicated process, I don’t want to find myself with challenges or formal subterfuges that lead us to ruin the final objective. We are in a position for this to be the ‘me too’ of Spanish football, for it to be a change”, wished the president of the CSD.
Francos also took the opportunity to apologize to the players of the world champion Spanish team. “They didn’t deserve this week, they deserved something else. Hopefully we can celebrate again, smile and be proud of what they have done. Today, that victory has more value,” he said.
