According to AS, former Spanish Football Federation president David Villa spoke about the Negreira case and the competition between Spain and Morocco to host the 2030 World Cup final.
He said, "I've spent 60 of my 76 years in the world of football. I was a player for 20 years, playing from the youth team all the way to the professional stage. Then I spent 40 years in administration, starting with the Biscay Football Association. During that time, I experienced difficult times, as well as joy and sorrow. I've always asked myself: What has football given me, and what has it taken away from me?"
He continued, "Football gave me values, stable financial conditions, fame, and world championship and two European championship titles. But it also took away time with my family, time with my friends, and time to enjoy life; it took away my time."
When asked about his proudest achievement with the Spanish Football Federation, Villa said, "What I'm most proud of is building a football city. When the national team approached me, the team had a problem. We were training in rented facilities, and I realized that we had to build a football city, with both public and private funding. Part of the success of my youth teams and the senior national team is thanks to this football city."
When asked about his biggest mistake, he said, "My mistake was not maintaining a smooth relationship with the media. What I really did wrong was lacking natural communication. I am one of the least willing people to speak."
Regarding the Negreira case, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation stated: "He was a member of the referee committee. We didn't know that at the time; if we had, we would have told him not to deal with the club. At that time, clubs started hiring former referees. This wasn't just happening at Barcelona; other clubs did it too. Now, almost every club is recruiting them."
When asked whether Barcelona would be punished because of the Negrera case, he said: "If they committed a sporting violation, it should be handled by the Football Association Court and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and then it may go to the ordinary courts. I don't have in-depth knowledge of this matter, nor do I have any relevant documents."
He continued, "Before I can comment, I need to know the facts. There is a principle in the disciplinary law that once a case is filed, if criminal proceedings are initiated at the same time, the proceedings will be suspended until the criminal proceedings are completed. I am not aware of the progress of the case, so I will not comment."
Speaking about FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Villa said: "I don't like the way people criticize the FIFA president. Why criticize him? Is it because he overturned a red card at the World Cup in the United States? He didn't. Sometimes the media misleads the public. FIFA has a competition committee. Or it's because he proposed to the media that 30% of the broadcasting rights be sold to a private company. I don't like that proposal, but he made it to spark discussion. He didn't actually want to implement it; he just wanted to promote discussion."
He emphasized: "I think even if that was his idea, the FIFA committee only considered it as a future option, not a final decision. I don't know him very well, but there must be some details involved. The outside world has completely distorted his image. The World Cup was fantastic, and the stadiums were packed."
Speaking about Morocco and Spain vying for the right to host the 2030 World Cup final, Villa said: "I hope the final will be held in Spain, and I hope to do everything I can to make that happen. But if the responsible football association really believes that the future of world football demands that the final be held in another country, then they know very well why they were chosen."
He concluded by saying, "I don't want the final to be held elsewhere, but I won't protest loudly about it. I've proposed several options, but they've all been rejected."
