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Former coach Del Bosque to lead committee overseeing Spanish federation / Photo: © AFP/File
NYSE - LSE
Former coach Del Bosque to lead committee overseeing Spanish federation
Former Spain coach Vicente del Bosque will lead the committee overseeing the country's scandal-hit football federation, the Spanish government said Tuesday.
The retired 73-year-old led La Roja to the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship titles, as well as taking Real Madrid to two Champions League triumphs.
"I'm proud to announce that the person presiding over the committee and representing it... is Vicente del Bosque," said Pilar Alegria, the minister for Education and Sports.
"Del Bosque will be the face and representation of Spanish football."
Last week Spain's National Sports Council (CSD) created a committee to "oversee" the federation (RFEF) and try to pull it out of crisis.
Former president Luis Rubiales resigned in disgrace after forcibly kissing Women's World Cup star Jenni Hermoso last year, while he and new president Pedro Rocha are under investigation in a graft probe.
"I believe that (Del Bosque) is the clearest representation of a good person of great human quality and, above all, an example of honesty and respect," added Alegria.
The RFEF took decisions "beyond its remit" after Rubiales stepped down in December according to a report from the country's leading sports court, resulting in the CSD creating the committee.
World and European football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA subsequently issued a statement expressing "great concern" at the situation around the RFEF.
"FIFA and UEFA will seek additional information to assess the extent to which the CSD's appointment (of the committee) ... may affect the RFEF's obligation to manage its affairs independently and without undue government interference," they said.
Spain is due to host the 2030 World Cup along with Portugal and Morocco.
The court report on the RFEF interim committee overstepping its bounds also raised the possibility the CSD may provisionally suspend Rocha, who was elected as Rubiales' replacement on Friday, and other RFEF directors.
A CSD meeting Tuesday over potential punishments for these alleged infringements was put on hold after the sports court asked for more documentation, CSD sources told AFP.
The sources said the CSD plans to meet again in the coming days.
One decision allegedly beyond the remit of the RFEF was the renewal of current Spain coach Luis de la Fuente's contract in February.
A. Williams--BTZ
