Shortly after celebrating Spain's fourth European Championship title win, the head of the Spanish Football Association, Pedro Rocha, has been banned for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
This was confirmed by a spokesperson for the federation (RFEF) on request. According to media reports, the ruling is not yet final and can be appealed in court. The reason given was the expulsion of an RFEF official last year.
However, in the opinion of the sports court, Rocha was not entitled to this dismissal as the then head of a transitional commission of the association following the fall of football boss Luis Rubiales in connection with the kissing scandal. Rocha was also fined a total of around 33,000 euros for further irregularities in the conduct of his duties. Spanish media assumed that the 81-year-old would appeal the decisions before a normal court.
Rocha had taken over the presidency of the scandal-ridden RFEF as successor to Rubiales, whose deputy and confidant he was. Rubiales had been forced to resign as RFEF president in September in the wake of the kissing scandal at the 2023 World Cup in Australia. He was subsequently banned for three years by FIFA, among others.
The official at the time had kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the mouth during the award ceremony after winning the World Cup title. The striker contradicted Rubiales' statement that the kiss was consensual and filed a complaint.
SDA
