Rueda supports Louzán as a candidate for the Football Federation despite the conviction for prevarication: “It would not be bad at all”

The president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, considers that if Rafael Louzán, convicted of prevarication, becomes president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) “for Galicia it would not be bad at all.” He has thus given his support to the candidacy of the person who is currently the head of the federation of this sport in Galicia. He stated that he does not know the requirements to access that position, but he has assumed that, if he has started the battle, it is because the disqualification for public office that the Provincial Court of Pontevedra issued for him allows it: “I suppose he has studied it.” ”.

It is not the first time that the Galician president gives his support to Louzán, with whom he coincided in the PP of Pontevedra. In fact, Rueda was the successor of the now candidate to preside over the RFEF at the head of the party at the provincial level. Louzán left that position in 2016, a year after the PP lost the Pontevedra Provincial Council, which he presided between 2003 and 2015. And his next destination was the Galician Football Federation. It was while occupying the presidency of this entity that his conviction for prevarication came in 2021. The reason, which was first seen by the Criminal Court number 3 of Pontevedra and confirmed in 2022 by the Provincial Court, was the concession by the Provincial Council that he presided of a subsidy of 86,311 euros to carry out works on the Moraña football field, which, for the most part, had already been carried out.

The sentence was seven years of disqualification from public office. Sports federations are private entities, but both the Galician and Spanish federations state in their statutes that one of the conditions to be part of their bodies is, precisely, not being disqualified from public office. Louzán remained, despite everything, at the head of the autonomous community because he appealed his sentence before the Supreme Court and is waiting for that process to be resolved. Meanwhile, their argument is that the sentence is not final.

Alfonso Rueda stated this Monday, in response to a question about the matter in his appearance after the weekly meeting of his cabinet, that he is not “aware of the specific, determined and necessary requirements” to preside over the RFEF. In any case, he would like the position to be occupied by a Galician. It is not the first time that the Galician president gives his support to Louzán. In the summer of 2023, he accepted his position regarding the non-consensual kiss that the then head of the Federation, Luis Rubiales, had given to the soccer player Jenni Hermoso. Louzán first apologized to Rubiales – “These are mistakes that are made,” he said – but he changed his speech in a few days and went on to present himself as one of the promoters of the statement that called for his resignation. Rueda then settled the issue by launching the idea that someone wanted to take advantage: “We should not play politics in this.”