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Deposed Spanish football federation chief ordered to resign

Suspended Spanish FA chief Angel Maria Villar was ordered to resign by the federation on Wednesday to pave the way for an election to find his successor.

Deposed Spanish football federation chief ordered to resign
Photo: AFP

The 67-year-old is suspended after his arrest on July 18 on suspicion of falsifying documents, misappropriation of funds, collusion and administrative breaches linked to skimming profits from international friendly games.   

He spent two weeks in custody before his release on bail.   

In a statement the RFEF said its executive committee had told Villar “to resign”.

Following his arrest Villar was suspended as RFEF president for a year, and he resigned as vice-president of both FIFA and UEFA.  

READ MORE: Spanish football chief banned amid graft probe

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.

Villar denies all charges against him.   

Also detained in a series of dawn raids in July were his son Gorka, the Spanish federation's  financial vice-president Juan Padron and Ramon Hernandez Baussou, general secretary of the Tenerife federation.

The federation's treasurer Juan Luis Larrea has acted as RFEF acting president since Villar's arrest.

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”.

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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