The Higher Sports Council (CSD) will convene its board of directors next week and will vote on whether or not to provisionally suspend Pedro Rocha and the entire managing committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) following the file initiated by the Administrative Court of Sports (TAD) for a very serious offence. The sports court assures in its resolution that both Rocha and all the members of the management company exceeded their duties by assuming, among other issues, the renewal of the absolute coach Luis de la Fuente or the dismissal of the general secretary Andreu Camps.
Suspending the members of the managing committee is feasible for the CSD board of directors because all of them hold positions in the federation. The problem arises with Pedro Rocha, who currently does not hold any federation position after resigning as president of the aforementioned manager and also of the Extremaduran territorial entity. However, there is precedent. On July 25, 2017, Juan Padrón, right-hand man of President Ángel María Villar, was provisionally suspended by the CSD board of directors ad
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because he also did not hold any position in the RFEF.
The TAD opened a file on Villar and Padrón following their arrest and imprisonment within the framework of Operation Soule, in which Judge Pedraz described an alleged clientelistic network and alleged crimes of unfair administration, business corruption, misappropriation and documentary falsification. When Operation Soule was unleashed, the Basque leader had been proclaimed president of the RFEF, but he had not yet appointed a board of directors, so Padrón did not hold any position. Villar was going to grant him continuity in his position as vice president, but he did not have time when he was arrested. This caused two points to be included in the resolution of the board of directors. In the first, the provisional suspension of both was announced in accordance with the Sports Law of 1990 and in the second, it was specified: “With regard to the suspension of Juan Morales Padrón, the suspension agreement is conditioned by the RFEF "the status of director, member of the governing or control body of the aforementioned federation is accredited."
Rocha, virtual winner of the elections for the presidency of the RFEF as he was the only candidate who presented the necessary 21 endorsements, is listed as being investigated in Operation Brodie regarding an alleged corruption plot within the federative entity. The challenge to his candidacy presented by the president of Cenafe, Miguel Galán, prevented him from being proclaimed the new president last Monday. This Friday it became known that the TAD has also upheld an appeal by Galán against the electoral process and has agreed to roll back the proceedings so that the Electoral Commission can issue a resolution in accordance with the law.
The next deadline for Rocha to be proclaimed president of the RFEF is April 26, but he will not be able to serve if the CSD board of directors provisionally suspends him if the same resolution as with Juan Padrón applies.
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