Andreu Camps, the general secretary of the RFEF who harassed the players

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed this Wednesday its general secretary, Andreu Camps (Tortosa, 62 years old). The dismissal of Camps is the first big step for the beheading of the rubialismo that is still maneuvering from within the federation in favor of the resigned president. Camps was in the spotlight of the players for his sullenness with them during the various negotiations in which he intervened, especially since the so-called crisis of the 15, a year ago. According to federal sources, he was also involved in the publication of the statements against Jennifer Hermoso after she declared that the kiss she received from Luis Rubiales in the celebration of the World Cup was not consensual. The players perceived Camps as one of the executing arms of Luis Rubiales and his dismissal was a non-negotiable condition not to abandon the concentration of the selection in the Valencian complex Oliva Golf, southeast of the capital, where they are concentrated since Tuesday. This Thursday they will travel to Sweden, where they make their Nations League debut on Friday.

The Government also had very pointed to Camps for his eagerness to keep Rubiales at the head of the federation after the crisis opened after the peak that the former president planted to the player of the selection exactly a month ago. The letter he sent to UEFA on August 25 in which he jeopardized the participation of Spanish teams and the national team in international competitions greatly irritated Victor Francos, president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD). "Just because of that letter he should have resigned," warns a leader from Las Rozas. Federation employees and acquaintances describe Camps as a man of sullen character, with little empathy with employees and arrogant and with an air of superiority in his dealings with the presidents of the territories.

In the federation they assure that the dismissal of Camps was planned, but that the plan of the international players has ended up accelerating it. The president of the management board, Pedro Rocha, and the barons closest to Rubiales were never clear when they should dismiss him and even if this was convenient. In negotiations with the players last weekend, Rocha turned her dismissal into a red line that he was not willing to cross. The pressure of the internationals and the CSD has left him no alternative.

Rocha and the barons who advocated its continuity argued that it was an essential piece for its knowledge of the ins and outs of the federation, when they did not defend that, due to its international contacts, it was a key piece in the candidacy of Spain, Portugal and Morocco to organize the 2030 World Cup. The latter is strongly denied by various sources consulted immersed in the processes of choosing the World Cup.

Graduated in Law and in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Camps came to the federation when Rubiales acceded to the presidency in 2018. Since then, it was with the external legal advisor, Tomás González Cueto, the ideologue and the executive arm on which the Granada leader relied in his disputes with LaLiga, with the players' union (AFE), with the National Futsal League or even with the CSD. On Monday, federal sources slipped that the threats of lawsuits against the players who asked for the head of the Rubialismo staff bore the stamp of Camps and González Cueto.

Camps' rise to the front line of sports management of Spanish football began with his first contacts with circles of Catalan nationalism and Olympism, in particular with Pere Miró, a historical member of the International Olympic Committee. He held a position in the Generalitat as coordinator of physical education schools and began to make a name for himself as a promoter of the prestigious Master of Sports Law of Lleida. This helped him to be claimed in 2013 by Miguel Cardenal, then president of the CSD, to be a member of the Administrative Court of Sport (TAD).

In the TAD he coincided with González Cueto and both starred in one of the most gruesome episodes that are remembered from the sports court. Camps abandoned it after refusing to open a file on Villar in 2015 for alleged favorable treatment of Recreativo and Marino de Tenerife. The evidence that Camps did not value to initiate an investigation, were taken into account by a court in Majadahonda. Shortly before, González Cueto had already left the TAD after being forced to abstain from a vote to expedienta Villar. This newspaper revealed that a lawyer who collaborated with the office in which Cueto worked at the time had been hired by the Bilbao leader. After leaving through the back door of the TAD both allied with Rubiales to return to control the system from the federation. Two of them are already history and the Government hopes that González Cueto will also be history as soon as possible.

To replace Camps, Pedro Rocha has invoked article 39.2 of the federation statutes that says: "The appointment of the Secretary General will be optional for the President of the RFEF who, if he does not make such designation, will be responsible for the functions of the former, being able to delegate to the people he deems appropriate. " The appointees are Elvira Andrés, for representative tasks, and Alfredo Olivares, for executive functions.

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