The strange resignation of Víctor Francos: the Queen, the 'youtuber' of Rubiales and the fears of the Government
On Tuesday, Víctor Francos attended an event by the Spanish Athletics Federation in which he spoke about the future of Spanish sport, the Paris Olympic Games and the expectations for the event.. He did it naturally and with enthusiasm, not with the melancholy of someone who thinks about a different future.. On occasions, people present perceived that his status at a meeting was not adequate, but this did not prevent him from being ratified in office 12 days ago by Minister Pilar Alegría.. The future he was talking about, in his case, was linked to sport. Yesterday, Thursday, a brief statement from the Higher Sports Council (CSD) announced his resignation as Secretary of State for Sports to start new professional projects. The surprise shook the offices of the federations, clubs and leagues. What had happened in those 48 hours?
Between one day and the other, on Wednesday, the name of Víctor Francos appeared during an interview conducted by the youtuber Alvise Pérez with Luis Rubiales. Specifically, Pérez stated that there was a recording in which the Secretary of State had insulted Queen Letizia.. “You remember hearing Víctor Francos say that Queen Letizia is a…”. At that moment, Rubiales interrupted the question: “I'm not going to say, nor am I going to get into lawsuits or more trouble or stories.”. “He will know what he said when he spoke about the Queen and if anyone wants to denounce him, they should denounce him.”. “I don't have any audio of him,” he clarifies, but “I know perfectly what he said and what he didn't say.”. And he also knows how he referred to it and to whom.”
The youtuber implies not only that these audios exist, but that he has heard them and they could be in his possession. He clarifies that without the authorization of the source they cannot be published, but from the interview it could be deduced that they are in circulation. Whether or not the talk was part of a strategy, what does seem clear is that it is a warning to sailors, now that Rubiales, already displaced from football, considers himself betrayed by many of those he believed to be on his side, as was the case of francs. Also by Pedro Rocha, whom he chose to pilot a transitional period that could be definitive and now does not respond to his calls. The origin of the alleged recording is not revealed in the interview with Pérez, a YouTuber and social media actor positioned on the extreme right and whom Rubiales has chosen to launch his messages.
Víctor Francos unexpectedly announces his resignation from the presidency of the Higher Sports Council WARNING FROM THE MINISTER
In the CSD environment there are those who maintain that Francos had some inappropriate appearances, and that for this reason he would have been advised by the minister. In this context, an accusation that would not be believed can create doubt, and there are doubts that cannot be lived with in politics.. Much less the Government of Pedro Sánchez, at a time of extremely high sensitivity due to the amnesty negotiations. In that context, an insult to a member of the Crown would be dynamite.
The existence of recordings of conversations made in the Federation environment is neither new nor surprising, although those in Rubiales' environment say they do not know anything about that audio.. In fact, it all started with the president's own recordings published by 'El Confidencial', after his telephone files were hacked.. This same Government verified how it had already recorded one of its ministers, the late José Guirao. Recordings were even made by other Federation employees in meetings outside the Las Rozas Football City facilities.. Francos spent many hours with the Federation leadership on the occasion of the Women's World Cup final in Sydney, both in the stadium and on the return trip, between drinks for the title and tension due to the kiss crisis.
SURPRISE IN THE OFFICES
Neither the CSD nor Francos nor anyone in the Government have commented in detail about the resignation, nor have the affected person announced, for the moment, actions against whoever has accused him of insulting the Queen.. Among the senior sports officials who have worked at his side, no one knew his intentions, fully involved and until dawn in the search for an agreement for the crisis of women's football, and executive in the project to modify the electoral rules of the federations with the intention of seeking a “more direct and less interposed democracy that puts an end to clientelism,” according to what he told this newspaper a few months ago. In recent days, he had even spoken in favor of Rocha's possible continuity, given his good availability and the lack of football mobilization.. The negotiation of the 2030 World Cup venues was another of the missions in which he had to mediate.
Francos and Rubiales, in Madrid, during the World Cup celebration.
A man of the PSC, he made the leap to Madrid with the help of Salvador Illa, who appointed him director of his cabinet during his time as Minister of Health. Later, another minister from the nursery of the Catalan socialists, Miquel Iceta, elevated him to the rank of Secretary of State for Territorial Policy and Public Function.. When Iceta moved to Culture and Sports, he took Francos and put him in charge of the Secretary of State for Sports, six months ago, on June 16. The move from Sports to the ministry headed by Pilar Alegría opened a period of waiting for its continuity, a time in which Franco used his influences to continue. He got it 12 days ago.
The departure of Francos at a key moment in his career, at the age of 44, leaves a void in key circumstances for Spanish sport: the Paris Games, the development of the 2030 World Cup and the elections in the Football Federation, among others. The Government must look for a name, for which, yesterday, some federations were betting on Félix Jordán, at the head of the CSD Youth Sports Foundation. The Sánchez Government must carefully consider the appointment of a Secretary of State that it has not been able to consolidate and through which, since 2018, María José Rienda, Irene Lozano, José Manuel Franco and Víctor Francos have passed. Four in five years. Too many in a sport with too many intrigues.