The National Audience (AN) rejected this Thursday the appeal of the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Pedro Rocha in which he requested his suspension as a precautionary measure the Resolution of the Sports Administrative Tribunal (TAD) by which he was sanctioned with a two-year ban on the exercise of management functions in sports federations. So Rocha will not be able to run in the elections for the presidency of the RFEF set for December 16, 2024.
In a judgment to which LaSexta had access, the magistrates thus confirmed the decision of the Central Contentious-Administrative Court 2 of the National Court on September 3 Why a first application was rejected de Rocha to temporarily paralyze the resolution of the TAD in order to be able to run for the RFEF elections.
The Court recalls that Rocha was sanctioned for three “very serious” offenses” and that it has in common, indirectly, the exercise of powers which did not correspond to it, in accordance with the regulatory regulations of the Federation, ignoring the internal rules of operation and depriving the governing body of informed decisions of its exclusive competence.
The AN sees “a real risk” that their behavior will repeat itself
The Chamber maintains that the sanction of forfeiture aims to guarantee the proper exercise of its functions by the bodies assigned to them and in this case, the person concerned was condemned, precisely, for having acted in an “arbitrary manner, by substituting the will of the federative entity.” for you and remove from the board of directors the exercise of powers which correspond exclusively to it. »
“We can therefore think that if the precautionary measure is agreed and the person concerned continues to occupy the position of president of the RFEF, There is a real risk that these behaviors will recur with the consequence of serious harm to the legal assets that the disciplinary regulations attempt to protect,” adds the judgment.
In the opinion of the Chamber, in “the necessary balancing of interests between the natural person of the applicant and the general interest, the latter must prevail for the reasons given”. Something, the text continues, which justifies the need to estimate “the precautionary measure envisaged is inadmissible”. The circumstances presented give such intensity to the general interest concerned, according to the judgment, that “they excuse the need to assess the impact of the precautionary measure on third parties”.
The general interest in the present case, affirms the National Court, is embodied in the proper functioning of sports institutions and this means that the position of president of a sports federation does not occupy the position of someone who has been disqualified for exceeding his limits. in the exercise of his functions.accusation for conduct contrary to sporting values” and that they are the subject of disciplinary reproaches.
The magistrates recall that the “sporting values of honesty and respect for the rules” which are intended to be projected onto the whole of society require the proper exercise of powers. As well as, they continue, “the management functions exercised by the people entrusted to them, who, precisely because of the influence they exercise as representatives of these organizations on the social body, must be particularly respectful respect for the rules. “
However, in the opinion of the Chamber, “it is not consistent with this objective be cautiously allowed who was disqualified as president for non-compliance with these rules, retaining said position and be able to participate in an electoral process have been sanctioned for behavior which constitutes a serious attack on these values, to the extent that they come up against impartiality and respect for the rules.
