ZURICH: Suspended Spanish football federation (RFEF) boss Angel Maria Villar has resigned from his senior roles with FIFA and UEFA following his arrest in Spain last week, the global and European soccer bodies said on Thursday.
Villar, his son Gorka and two other football federation executives were detained on July 18 on allegations of collusion, embezzlement and falsifying documents. Villar, who has denied all the allegations, was refused bail.
He is the latest leading official to be arrested or banned in a corruption scandal which has swept the world's most popular sport.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the 67-year-old had resigned from his positions as senior vice-president and member of the decision-making FIFA Council, which he had sit on since 1998.
UEFA also confirmed that Villar had stood down after 25 years on its executive committee.
“Angel Maria Villar (has) tendered his resignation as vice president of UEFA and member of the UEFA Executive Committee with immediate effect,” UEFA said in a statement sent to Reuters.
“Following his resignation, Villar will no longer have any official functions at our organization.”
UEFA said its president, Aleksander Ceferin, had accepted Villar’s resignation and had thanked him for his many years of service to European football.
"In view of the ongoing court proceedings in Spain, we have no further comments to make on this matter," the statement said.
Villar, a former Athletic Bilbao and Spain midfielder, had headed the Spanish federation for 29 years and was re-elected for an eighth term in May.
It has named Juan Luis Larrea as its interim president after Villar was suspended by the state sports body, the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), on Tuesday.
Since 2015, several dozen leading officials, mainly from Latin America, have been indicted in the US on corruption-related charges.
Several have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, others have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial and some are in their homeland where they are fighting, or have avoided, extradition.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been banned for six years and former UEFA chief Michel Platini for four by FIFA's ethics committee.
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Spanish federation boss Villar resigns from FIFA, UEFA
Spanish federation boss Villar resigns from FIFA, UEFA
Motor racing-Ferrari can reel Mercedes in, says Hamilton
- Hamilton said Ferrari’s race pace was stronger than qualifying suggested, having started seventh on the grid
MELBOURNE: An upbeat Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari were right in the fight for the Formula One championship despite being outpaced by Mercedes in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in the season-opener, crossing more than 15 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third and Hamilton in fourth.
“I’m genuinely really proud of the team,” the seven-times world champion told Sky.
“I think we’ve done an amazing job to get the car to where it is. Of course we’re not as fast as Mercedes, we’ve got work to do, but we’re right in the fight.”
Hamilton said Ferrari’s race pace was stronger than qualifying suggested, having started seventh on the grid.
“I think all weekend I’ve been really, really strong, but qualifying didn’t show the true pace,” he said.
“We had a few problems through qualifying which meant that I was further back than I should have been.”
Once the race began, Hamilton said he felt competitive from the outset and believed he might have had his first podium with Ferrari if the cars were on the track for a bit longer.
“It was a really, really fun race and it felt good for me,” he said.
“I was obviously closing the gap right at the end to Charles. A couple more laps and I think I would have had him — maybe one or two more laps.”
While conceding Mercedes hold a clear advantage in the early season, Hamilton said the deficit was not insurmountable.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch Mercedes, but it’s not impossible,” he said.
“I do believe we can close the gap. It’s not going to be easy because it’s quite significant, particularly on a single lap. We need to find out whether it’s power or battery power.
“But the car is just as quick through the corners, so we’ve just got to keep pushing.”
George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in the season-opener, crossing more than 15 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third and Hamilton in fourth.
“I’m genuinely really proud of the team,” the seven-times world champion told Sky.
“I think we’ve done an amazing job to get the car to where it is. Of course we’re not as fast as Mercedes, we’ve got work to do, but we’re right in the fight.”
Hamilton said Ferrari’s race pace was stronger than qualifying suggested, having started seventh on the grid.
“I think all weekend I’ve been really, really strong, but qualifying didn’t show the true pace,” he said.
“We had a few problems through qualifying which meant that I was further back than I should have been.”
Once the race began, Hamilton said he felt competitive from the outset and believed he might have had his first podium with Ferrari if the cars were on the track for a bit longer.
“It was a really, really fun race and it felt good for me,” he said.
“I was obviously closing the gap right at the end to Charles. A couple more laps and I think I would have had him — maybe one or two more laps.”
While conceding Mercedes hold a clear advantage in the early season, Hamilton said the deficit was not insurmountable.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch Mercedes, but it’s not impossible,” he said.
“I do believe we can close the gap. It’s not going to be easy because it’s quite significant, particularly on a single lap. We need to find out whether it’s power or battery power.
“But the car is just as quick through the corners, so we’ve just got to keep pushing.”
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