Rubiales takes a swipe at Villar
Luis Rubiales, lawyer, ex-player and as of yesterday, now former president of the Player's Association (AFE) has confirmed his intention to run for the presidency of the Spanish FA (RFEF). He's the first person to come forward and offer a solution after Villar's detention and subsequent suspension from his position by the CSD (Consejo Superior de Deportes). Since then, there has been a degree of confusion as to who is really steering the wheel at the federation with Juan Luis Larrea taking temporary control. The acting president has been advised to resign by his close friends but this Thursday is set to complete six months in this role despite degrees of uncertainty about his long term plans within the organisation.
Poorly handled
Rubiales confirmed yesterday that he wanted to pursue the "vote of no confidence" directed at Larrea and advocated that this motion was a positive step as it would clear the path for a new president within the FA and this is the position coveted by Rubiales. To carry out the initiative, he needs 47 votes from members of the assembly, which is approximately a third of the 139 man total membership. It also warrants saying that the National Sports Council (CSD) has handled the whole affair poorly with Villar still being able to access his office at the Las Rozas HQ until the door was padlocked creating a general degree of embarrassment to the game in Spain.
Confusion
What happens if Villar officially resigns ahead of Thursday? That would then remove the vote of no confidence procedure and trigger elections. The alternative for the CSD is to cancel an immediate election and then stage the voting procedure at a much later date ahead of a new revised assembly with a new president being chosen in that way. In the current cloud of uncertainty, all we know is that that Luis Rubiales, the previous union head who oversaw a players strike delaying the start of the league campaign some seasons back has put himself forward offering a fresh perspective to take the federation forward. He and Tebas (president of LaLiga) are far from bosom buddies but his initial concern is the securing of the required votes from the assembly to take his crusade forward.