Luis Rubiales (pictured) won the election with 80 votes to 56 for Juan Luis Larrea.GETTY IMAGES
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) named Luis Rubiales its new permanent president, according to José Félix Díaz of MARCA. The former Levante player and former president of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) defeated Juan Luis Larrea, "the man who had been interim president in the aftermath" of the Ángel María Villar scandal, by a vote of 80-56 at the election held in Las Rozas, Madrid. Given that the RFEF's presidential elections and the regional federation elections "are normally held at the same time," Rubiales' term will only run until '20, when there will be a "fresh vote." Rubiales "plans to alter the refereeing system and he is also planning a major audit to gauge the true extent of the federation's finances" (MARCA, 5/17). Díaz also reported when Rubiales arrived at the AFE, it had 5,000 members and a budget of €2.5M. When he left the organization, it had more than 9,000 members and a budget of €16M (MARCA, 5/17). Díaz also reported Larrea "accepted the result of the vote, but admitted his pain over those who promised him their support and did not provide it." Larrea: "This morning I still saw myself as the winner because they were telling me I had more than 80 votes. There are people who tricked me and I will find out who it was" (MARCA, 5/17).
