MADRID: Spain’s football federation elected Rafael Louzan as its new president on Monday as it tries to move on from more than a year of turmoil sparked by former boss Luis Rubiales’s forced kiss on star player Jenni Hermoso.

Louzan, 57, head of the Galicia football federation since 2014, beat his counterpart in the Valencia region Salvador Gomar by 90 votes to 43 and will lead the RFEF to 2028. But his term could be short-lived as he faces a possible ban from holding public office following a conviction for abuse of office in a previous role.

Spain’s Supreme Court is assessing an appeal by Louzan, who could become the fourth RFEF president to be forced out of the job in less than eight years after Angel Maria Villar, in 2017, Rubiales and then Pedro Rocha.

The succession of scandals to rock the RFEF began in August 2023 when Rubiales forcibly kissed Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Women’s World Cup in Australia. Rubiales, who denies any wrongdoing, relinquished his post in disgrace later that year amid a huge public outcry.

He will stand trial in February 2025 with public prosecution requesting a sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison for sexual assault and coercion. Spain’s top sports court suspended his replacement Rocha in July for making decisions beyond his remit after taking over as interim president.

Both Rocha and Rubiales were part of a separate corruption probe ordered by a Spanish investigating judge in April. The men’s national team has shrugged off the institutional chaos, winning Euro 2024 and gold at the Paris Olympics. Spain will co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. — AFP