The Administrative Court of Sport (TAD) has imposed a two-year ban on the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Pedro Rocha, for committing a very serious infringement under the Sports Law, for the dismissal of the general secretary Andreu Camps on September 20, 2023.
The TAD also fined him a total of 33,000 euros for two other very serious infringements (16,527.84 each): the termination of the contract with the GC Legal office of Tomás González Cueto, investigated as Rocha in the proceedings being conducted by the Majadahonda court for alleged irregularities in relation to the Spanish Super Cup contract, and the appearance of the RFEF as a private prosecutor in the case.
In deciding on the sanctions, the court has noted differences in the three facts and has decided to disqualify Camps for two years for the dismissal, a decision by Rocha that the TAD describes as “arbitrary and unilateral”, without communication to the Management Committee, not even a posteriori, as occurred in the other two cases.
This is stated in the file, according to the TAD, which includes the allegations of the other members of the management, who were also investigated but not sanctioned.
“Mr. Rocha overstepped his authority in the performance of his duties, exercising government functions without being a sole governing body. The dismissal constitutes an action carried out by Mr. Rocha, individually, that exceeds the functions that correspond to him as president of the Management Committee, giving rise to an abuse of authority, which constitutes the commission of a very serious infringement of article 76.1.a) of Law 10/1990, of October 15, on Sport,” states the TAD.
Regarding the termination of the CVC contract, the TAD considers that Rocha “arbitrarily decided” to do so and “assigned himself a function that corresponds to the President of the RFEF or, failing that, to the body that collegially exercises the functions of government, the Management Committee, but not to the president.”
For the court, the fact that this decision was ratified at the meeting of the Management Committee on April 3 does not eliminate any disciplinary responsibilities of the person who engaged in such conduct.
This fact means a fine of 116,527.84 euros for Rocha, as it is also a very serious infringement, the same amount imposed by the TAD for the decision of the RFEF to appear as private prosecutor in the judicial case being processed by the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 4 of Majadahonda.
The TAD ruling reflects that Rocha argued that “said decision was reported and informed to the Managing Committee itself at the session of April 3, 2024, however, from reading the minutes it appears that it was not submitted to the deliberation and vote of said collegiate body,” therefore “it exceeded the exercise of its functions.”
“Such actions have curtailed the rights of the other members of the RFEF Management Committee, in particular, their right to participate in deliberations and to vote on matters within their competence, in violation of Article 22 of the Statutes,” states the TAD.
For the court, “the actions attributed to Mr. Rocha do not pass the test of reasonableness and must be classified as arbitrary and rude,” maintains the TAD, with the notes of conscience and will concurring in the subjective element, due to the fact that he knew what his position was (president of a collegiate body, not president of the RFEF), as well as the normative limits of his functions (provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Statutes).”
“Despite this, he exercised other functions, making decisions unilaterally and without submitting to the deliberation and vote of the Management Committee, ignoring the most basic rules of operation of any collegiate body and being precisely the one competent to convene said body,” it added.
Aside from his possible appeal through administrative litigation, with the TAD sanction Rocha cannot stand in the elections that the RFEF will call in September and the presidency of the organization will be assumed by the former player and deputy vice president, María Ángeles García “Yaye”, without the need to call elections.
María Ángeles García was appointed to this position by Rocha, when the Extremadura native was proclaimed president of the RFEF on April 12 as the sole candidate in the elections, with 107 endorsements out of the 138 possible.
Pedro Rocha, former president of the Extremadura Football Federation, was economic vice president of the RFEF from 2020 until he temporarily replaced Luis Rubiales as president of the management committee in August 2023, when the latter was temporarily suspended by FIFA, following his behavior in the Women’s World Cup final and the non-consensual kiss with Jenni Hermoso, for which he will be tried, in addition to coercion of the latter.
