Spain's Supreme Court clears new soccer chief of malfeasance

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Supreme Court has upheld an appeal by the new president of the country's scandal-ridden soccer federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzan, against his conviction on charges of malfeasance and a seven-year ban.

The decision saves the RFEF from further embarrassment and the need for a new election.

Louzan was elected in December despite a previous lower court verdict against him after more than a year of turmoil at the football governing body following the downfall of former chief Luis Rubiales and his right-hand man Pedro Rocha.

The Supreme Court, which had taken up Louzan's appeal before his election, said on Thursday it had annulled the lower court ruling that barred Louzan from holding public office for seven years in a case involving a contract to improve a football pitch in the northwestern city of Morana in 2011.

The contractor undertook improvements not initially foreseen and after the works were completed, the provincial authority of Pontevedra, led by Louzan, called a new tender with the intention of awarding it to the company that had already done the job.

The Supreme Court said in its ruling that the decision to grant a new subsidy for works not initially foreseen did not constitute the crime of malfeasance as the authorities were already required to pay for the works done.

The Spanish government had said that were the Supreme Court to confirm Louzan's previous conviction it would seek new elections at the soccer federation.

Louzan, who is leading the RFEF as Spain gears up to co-host the 2030 World Cup, did not immediately answer a request for comment.

The court ruling comes in the same week as Louzan's predecessor Rubiales went on trial at Madrid's High Court, where he stands accused of sexual assault against player Jenni Hermoso after kissing her on the lips at the 2023 Women's World Cup awards ceremony in Australia.

He is also accused of attempting to coerce Hermoso - with the help of three other men - into declaring that the kiss had been consensual.

The episode eclipsed Spain's first women's World Cup victory and has triggered a national backlash against sexism in sport. Rubiales denies those criminal charges.

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, Additional reporting by Fernando Kallas, Editing by Andrei Khalip)