The Transparency and Democracy in Sports Association, chaired by Miguel Galán, filed a criminal complaint this Tuesday before the Criminal and Civil Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) against the president of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, for the invitation extended to him by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to attend the final of the last Football World Cup, in New Jersey (USA).
The complaint emphasizes that “the indicative value of the ticket is set according to the official sales tariff between 3,560 and 7,386 euros with dynamic prices and higher secondary market prices,” therefore it considers that “there are reasonable indications that such patrimonial advantage could have been offered and accepted in consideration of the recipient’s position or function, which would constitute the crimes of passive bribery, improper (article 422 of the Penal Code) and active bribery (article 424) without prejudice to the classification resulting from the investigation.”
The complaint, accessed by this newspaper, is directed against Marisa González, chief of staff of the presidency of the RFEF led by Rafael Louzán. She is also attributed as “communication advisor to the president of the Generalitat.” For this reason, she is accused of the crime of active bribery “for offering or delivering the gift to the authority.” No contractual relationship of González with the Generalitat or Pérez Llorca is known; however, it is documented that the former chief of staff of the Madrid president between 2015 and 2018, Cristina Cifuentes, also from the PP, has occasionally advised the president of the Consell on some matters.
Since the four-day trip of Pérez Llorca to the USA, accompanied by his regional secretary of Communication, Vicente Ordaz, to watch the Spain-Argentina final on July 19, became public, the president has insisted that both the trip and the stay were paid out of his own pocket because it was a “private” trip. Ordaz has expressed the same, acknowledging that the Spanish Federation “had the courtesy” to invite him with a ticket, “as it has done with other people.” It has not been revealed that any other regional president attended the final. Pérez Llorca himself, wearing the Spain jersey, sent messages on his social networks from the final stadium and especially celebrated the goal of the “Valencian” Ferran Torres.
After the criticisms made in Les Corts by opposition groups, the PSPV-PSOE and Compromís, who labeled the invitation as “improper passive bribery” and demanded to know the costs of the trip, RFEF sources told this newspaper on July 21 that Pérez Llorca and Ordaz were interested in buying tickets and that the entity decided to extend invitations to them, as it also did “with other personalities, politicians, journalists, diplomats, former players or actors, without ideological distinction, and in application” of its powers as a private organization, affiliated with FIFA, organizer of the World Cup. The Presidency of the Generalitat stated this afternoon to this newspaper that it has nothing to say about the complaint filed. Marisa González has not responded to the message sent by this newspaper so far.
The complaint, filed at the TSJCV since Pérez Llorca has parliamentary immunity, points out that “the legal-private nature of the RFEF, invoked by said entity to refuse to provide explanations,” does not exclude the criminal relevance of the facts, but rather “presupposes it.” It adds that the federation “exercises, by delegation, public administrative functions and receives public funding, which reinforces the demand for objectivity and transparency in its dealings with authorities.”
The 26-page complaint refers to the Generalitat’s budget for this year allocating “two direct aids to the RFEF amounting to 45,000 euros each – 90,000 € in total – intended for the organization of the Women’s Football Supercup in Castellón and the women’s national team qualifying match for the 2027 World Cup. Five days ago, the Generalitat announced that during 2026 it will invest 1.6 million euros in aid to Valencian clubs and athletes in general. There are different lines of aid to the various federations, especially the territorial ones.
The association chaired by Galán has ultimately not filed a complaint against Rafael Louzán, who was president of the Pontevedra Provincial Council between 2003 and 2015 for the PP, despite what was announced in the burofax sent last week to the RFEF, in which it requested all information related to the final ticket and announced the complaint now filed. His statement “is of interest as a witness,” says the complaint.
Normally, the vast majority of complaints are admitted for processing if they do not contain formal defects. TSJCV sources point out that it is very unlikely the court will rule on this procedure since August is a non-working month unless it is an urgent and highly relevant matter.
Galán, owner of the coaching school Cenafe, is a well-known figure in the world of football and complaints. A complaint he filed in 2017 against Ángel María Villar before the Superior Sports Council (CSD) for violating neutrality in the electoral process ended the 30-year tenure of the Bilbao leader at the head of the RFEF. He also managed to veto one of the referees of the Sports Administrative Tribunal (TAD), who was a partner of Luis Rubiales’ lawyer, in the case about the kiss to Jennifer Hermoso, among other lawsuits.