The battle between the Government, through the Higher Sports Council (CSD), and the Sports Arbitration Court (TAD) for the case of Luis Rubiales continues. In a new letter sent to the TAD so that the court temporarily suspends the leader ex officio, the CSD stresses that Rubiales “harms the image of Spain.” In the content of the document, to which this newspaper has had access, the CSD “considers that Rubiales’ behavior during and after the women’s World Cup final affects the image of Spanish sport and Spain.” In this sense, the document states that this attitude harms the country “not only because of the enormous national and international repercussions it is having, but also because of the effects it may have on relations with international federations.” On this, the CSD recalls that Spain “aspires to organize the 2030 Men’s Soccer World Cup.”
Finally, the Council, in its reasoned request, stresses that FIFA’s suspension of Rubiales is temporary (90 days), “a circumstance that would aggravate the aforementioned damages.”
The TAD knocked down on Friday the aspirations of the Government that it was the CSD that could temporarily disable Rubiales by considering his behavior as serious and not very serious.
There was no unanimity among the seven members of the TAD on how to qualify Rubiales’ attitude in the World Cup final. In fact, the president of the TAD, Miguel Pajuelo, presented a dissenting vote in which he shows his opposition to the resolution of the same for the opening of a disciplinary procedure against the suspended president of the RFEF for understanding that it should be done for two very serious infractions.
The resolution of the TAD believes “sufficiently motivated and reasoned” the possible infringement “in relation to notorious and public facts contrary to dignity and sporting decorum”, due to the behavior of Rubiales, but not “that there are sufficient indications for the initiation of file for abuse of authority.
“The fact that they were carried out by the president of the RFEF, in the box of authorities in an event of the highest international diffusion for Spanish football, especially women’s football, and the very nature of the gestures of a presumably macho character, their realization before the Queen of Spain and the Infanta Sofia, evidence with an indicative nature that it is contrary to dignity and sporting decorum”, states the resolution.
The TAD adds that “the evidence relating to the gesture of the kiss (to Jenni Hermoso) as alleged members of the offending type are, within the scope of the sports discipline jurisdiction of this Court, totally unrelated to the assessment of the infringement of whether it was Consented or not, a matter that falls outside the disciplinary scope because it is a matter, where appropriate, of a criminal nature”.
After reviewing the documentation sent by the CSD, the court states that “the video does not appreciate the existence of minimally sufficient evidence that shows, at the preliminary stage in which we find ourselves, well-founded suspicions of gross, arbitrary, conscious and voluntary overreach in the exercise of the functions of the president and for his personal benefit”.
From here the Government had to accept the setback. As it is considered a serious and not very serious offense, the CSD cannot temporarily disable Rubiales. The only thing he can do in this way is what he did: present a new document to the TAD so that it is the one that decides to provisionally suspend the leader.
According to legal sources consulted, the TAD has a maximum of one month to respond to the CSD’s request.
In the midst of this entanglement, the only body that is currently preventing Rubiales from returning to office is FIFA, with its 90-day provisional suspension. During this time, FIFA is expected to rule definitively on the matter or extend the suspension. If he did not do so, that the experts consulted consider that he will, or conclude that there is nothing punishable, then Rubiales could return, unless during this interim he was disqualified by the TAD.
While he was temporarily suspended and not disabled, there would also be the option of undertaking a motion of no confidence by the RFEF assembly. Until October 11 there is still a deadline to raise it.
