Victoriano Sánchez Arminio, former soccer referee and former presidents of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has died at the age of 80. He had been fighting lung cancer for some time. The sad news was known this Sunday early in the afternoon and the first messages of condolence from clubs and sports entities in the country did not wait.

Born in Santander, Sánchez Arminio has been one of the most renowned Spanish referees. He directed First Division matches for 13 seasons, between 1976 and 1989, receiving the FIFA rosette that distinguished him as an international referee in 1978. Throughout his long career he directed three Copa del Rey finals, one UEFA Cup and He whistled in two World Cups (Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986) and one Olympic Games (Los Angeles 1984).

After his retirement, he went on to direct the Technical Committee of Referees, being appointed by Ángel María Villar in the spring of 1993. He held the position for more than two decades, until 2018, when he was relieved by Velasco Carballo.

Sánchez Armino was charged by the National Court together with the rest of the board of the Spanish Football Federation chaired at that time by Ángel María Villar in the framework of the investigation known as the ‘Soule case’.

The Judge is investigating the alleged diversion of almost 8 million euros, coming from the collection of the pools and Sánchez Arminio himself was called before the National Court last March, but refused to testify before the Judge.

It is not the only plot that has splashed him. Sánchez Arminio’s number two in the CTA was José María Enríquez Negreira, who is also being investigated for the more than seven million euros that he would have received as an adviser to FC Barcelona on arbitration matters, while he held the position of vice president of the CTA.