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FOOTBALL

Spanish football chief resigns from Fifa and Uefa over fraud probe

Deposed Spanish football boss Angel Maria Villar, in custody on corruption charges, has resigned as vice-president of both Fifa and Uefa, the two Switzerland-based governing bodies announced on Thursday.

Spanish football chief resigns from Fifa and Uefa over fraud probe
Angel Maria Villar. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP
The 67-year-old's near three-decade tenure as head of the Spanish federation ended this week when he was suspended following his arrest on July 18th.
   
“Mr Villar has stood down from his post as senior vice-president at Fifa,” a spokesperson for world football's ruling body told AFP.
   
At Uefa, European football's governing association said his resignation tendered “with immediate effect” on Wednesday had been accepted by the organisation's president Aleksander Ceferin.
   
Ceferin “thanked him for his many years of service to European football”.
   
“Following his resignation, Mr Villar will no longer have any official functions at our organization.
   
“In view of the on-going court proceedings in Spain, we have no further comments to make on this matter,” the statement concluded.
   
Villar, who denies all charges against him, was detained with his son as part of a fraud probe launched last year.
   
Also arrested in a series of early morning raids on federation headquarters and other sites last week were the Spanish federation's financial vice-president Juan Padron and Ramon Hernandez Baussou, general secretary of the Tenerife federation.
   
They face charges including falsifying documents, misappropriation of funds, collusion and administrative breaches linked to skimming profits from international friendly games.
   
Villar has headed the Spanish federation for the past 29 years and under his watch Spain became one of the dominant forces in world football, winning two European championships and the 2010 World Cup.
   
But his critics say his period in charge was marked by ethical issues and an autocratic management style.
   
Following his re-election in May, El Pais newspaper denounced his “despotic” management and bemoaned his close ties to Fifa and Uefa leaders embroiled in corruption probes.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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