MADRID: Spanish football federation (RFEF) boss Angel Maria Villar has been suspended from his post for one year after he was arrested last week as part of a corruption investigation, Spain’s state sports body said on Tuesday.
The Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) took the decision unanimously as a “precautionary and provisional” measure, it said in a statement, adding that the decision could be reversed depending on how the situation develops.
Villar, a former Athletic Bilbao and Spain midfielder, has headed the RFEF for 29 years and is a vice-president of world soccer’s ruling body Fifa and Europe’s Uefa.
Villar, his son Gorka and two other football federation executives were detained on July 18 on allegations of collusion, embezzlement and falsifying documents. Villar has denied all the allegations.
A judge ordered on Thursday that Villar should be remanded in custody. Juan Padron, one of the other executives arrested, was also suspended by the CSD for one year.
Meanwhile, former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has been banned for six years and former Uefa chief Michel Platini for four by Fifa’s ethics committee. — Reuters
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