Villar resigns from FIFA and UEFA roles

(FILES) This file photo taken on April 21, 2014 shows President of Spanish Football Association and the representative of FIFA, Angel Maria Villar delivering his speech and message of the FIFA President during the inauguration ceremony of the ‘Pancho (alias Hungarian-Spanish football legend Ferenc Puskas) Stadium of Puskas Academy’ in Felcsut village. Deposed Spanish football boss Angel Maria Villar, in custody on corruption charges, has resigned as vice-president of both FIFA and UEFA, the two governing bodies announced on on July 27, 2017. The 67-year-old’s near three-decade tenure as head of the Spanish federation ended this week when he was suspended following his arrest on July 18. / AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK

Deposed Spanish football boss Angel Maria Villar, in custody on corruption charges, has resigned as vice-president of both FIFA and UEFA, the two governing bodies announced on Thursday.

The 67-year-old’s near three-decade tenure as head of the Spanish federation ended this week when he was suspended following his arrest on July 18.

“Mr Villar has stood down from his post as senior vice-president at FIFA,” a spokesperson for world football’s ruling body told AFP.

At UEFA, European football’s governing association said his resignation tendered “with immediate effect” on Wednesday had been accepted by the organisation’s president Aleksander Ceferin.

Ceferin “thanked him for his many years of service to European football”.

“Following his resignation, Mr Villar will no longer have any official functions at our organisation.

“In view of the on-going court proceedings in Spain, we have no further comments to make on this matter,” the statement concluded.

Villar was detained with his son as part of a fraud probe launched last year.

Also arrested in a series of early morning raids on federation headquarters and other sites last week were the Spanish federation’s financial vice-president Juan Padron and Ramon Hernandez Baussou, general secretary of the Tenerife federation.

They face charges including falsifying documents, misappropriation of funds, collusion and administrative breaches linked to skimming profits from international friendly games.