UEFA moves 2024 annual congress from Madrid to Paris in wake of Luis Rubiales scandal

• UEFA Congress shifted to Paris
• Decision comes after Rubiales-Hermoso incident
• Nations League draw also relocated

WHAT HAPPENED? European football's governing body has decided to shift the venue from the Spanish capital to Paris due to the Rubiales-Hermoso controversy that has rocked Spanish football. The event, which is slated to take place on February 8, 2024, is being shifted as the Spanish FA lacks a president and finds an interim general secretary at the helm. This decision was confirmed during a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Cyprus.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Rubiales had recently resigned from his role as the president of RFEF (Spanish FA) and had earlier been suspended by FIFA. As a result, Armand Duka of Albania has been named as Rubiales' replacement as a UEFA vice president. Moreover, the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League group stage draw, originally scheduled in Madrid, is also being relocated to Paris on the same day.

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WHAT NEXT? Rubiales' actions and the handling of the issue have drawn intense global scrutiny and criticism. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin also labelled his actions as "inappropriate".