On Monday, the general assembly of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) elected Rafael Louzan as president after more than a year of turmoil in the scandal-riddled body following the fall of former president Luis Rubiales and his right-hand man Pedro Rocha.
The head of the Galicia regional federation, Louzan, 57, received 90 votes, beating Valencia FA boss Salvador Gomar, who got just 43 votes in a two-way race after the last-minute withdrawal of FA Extremadura boss Sergio Merchan.
Rubiales was the target of a corruption investigation. He is due to stand trial in February for sexual assault over the unwanted kiss of player Jenni Hermoso following Spain’s victory in the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Sydney.
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Rocha, who briefly succeeded him, was handed a two-year ban for irregularities.
Last April, the Spanish government created a special commission to oversee soccer’s governing body until new elections are held.
Louzan has also had legal problems which could have dashed the RFEF’s hopes of starting the match with a clean sheet.
In May 2022, he was found guilty of fraud in a case involving a contract to improve a football pitch in the town of Morana. Although he was cleared of fraud charges, the verdict barred him from holding public office for seven years.
Louzan denied the allegations and filed an appeal, which allowed him to run for president of the RFEF. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the appeal on February 5.
