FIFA and UEFA attack Spanish football again

The weeks follow one another and are similar for Spanish football which is sinking into a deep total crisis. In recent months, the country has been mired in multiple political scandals involving the federation. Two men are particularly singled out: Luis Rubiales and his interim president Pedro Rocha. Faced with these unprecedented cases, the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez had recently taken a radical decision, that of placing the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) under supervision. “The Spanish government has taken this decision to remedy the serious situation of the RFEF and allow it to begin a period of renewal in a climate of stability”, had thus communicated on its site the Superior Sports Council (CSD), an organization dependent on the Ministry of Sports. If the Spanish leaders have decided to urgently reinforce Pedro Rocha at the head of the RFEF, the days to come promise to be crucial with a major standoff started against the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

Disagreements between the main international football organizations, FIFA and UEFA, and the government have caused a disaster of unprecedented scale for Spanish football. The situation of instability due to investigations surrounding the RFEF motivated the Superior Sports Council to opt for a Commission which would protect the federative entity. But the move was seen by FIFA and UEFA as a threat of political interference that could prompt them to act. On the government side, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, president of the CSD, responded forcefully: “What would be irresponsible would be to stand idly by, doing nothing, while the damage to the reputation of Spanish football continues to grow”. A demonstration with the scent of a test, which did not please UEFA and FIFA, even if it seems that the question is still far from being resolved before the matter reaches its most resolved radical: the banning of Spanish football from all international competitions.

Friday will be a key day

Spanish football holds its breath and marked the date Friday May 3, 2024 with red pen in its calendar. Friday is the deadline for the CSD to clarify the questions posed by FIFA and UEFA, namely: on what legal and/or factual basis was the Commission appointed? What is the composition of the Commission and who appointed its members? What is the exact mandate of the Commission? What are the powers of the Commission? What relations does the Commission maintain with the statutory decision-making bodies of the RFEF? Five major questions that will need to be clarified before the end of the week. There are now two possibilities: either the CSD’s response to the demands is satisfactory, which would imply that FIFA and UEFA follow the matter closely but without taking any action pending future events, or it is proven that the interference policy is real and therefore the RFEF intervened. The two institutions of world football are alarming, from Nyon and Zurich, that this last hypothesis would thus imply deadly consequences for Spanish football. Financially, this mess would lead Spanish entities to a serious crisis, because they would not be able to claim the lucrative prices offered for their TV rights. If this were to be confirmed, FIFA would suspend the Spanish federation which would be automatically excluded from all competitions and also from those of UEFA.

In other words, the national teams would be eliminated from the next Euro in Germany and the Olympic Games (men’s and women’s), while its clubs would also not be able to compete in the Champions League, the Europa League, the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup. This would be a similar situation to that experienced by Russia, whose national teams and clubs do not participate in international competitions for a very different reason: the war in Ukraine. However, there have been cases in which FIFA has issued a ban similar to the one facing Spain. The federations of Zimbabwe, Kenya, Pakistan and Chad have been sanctioned for cases in which “political interference” was cited and led to vetoes in international competitions. Spain would also be removed from the race to host the 2030 World Cup, the election of which has not yet been approved and which is scheduled to take place at the Extraordinary FIFA Congress in December during which the only existing candidacy will be made official (Spain, Morocco and Portugal with three South American countries for the opening matches). From Switzerland, it is already reported that Morocco and Portugal are perfectly capable of carrying out the tournament alone, without the presence of Spain. A crucial week awaits for the future of Spanish football…