Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Barcelona name acting president after Bartomeu resignation

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FC Barcelona unveil new signing Pedri - Auditorium 1899, Barcelona, Spain - August 20, 2020 FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu during the unveiling REUTERS/Albert Gea

Barcelona named Carles Tusquets as their acting president on Wednesday, a day after Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned in order to avoid facing a vote of no confidence.

Barca said in a statement that Tusquets, the chairman of the club's economic commission, would lead the acting board of directors, comprising seven other people, until a new president and board is elected.

The acting board has the same functions as an executive board but is limited to only making decisions "that are necessary and fundamental to carrying out the club's normal activities and protecting its interests", said the statement.

The board's main objective is to organise elections within the next three months, meaning the next one must be held before the initial date of March 2021 which Bartomeu had set in August.

Seven people have announced their intention to run for president, including Joan Laporta, who led the club between 2003 and 2010 and oversaw two Champions League title wins, and Victor Font, who has pledged to appoint club great Xavi Hernandez as coach.

Bartomeu became Barca president after Sandro Rosell's resignation in 2014 and comfortably won a 2015 election soon after the team won a treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

But he saw his popularity steadily fall after being embroiled in a scandal involving a social media monitoring firm, a worsening economic crisis and the team's 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

More than 20,000 members signed a motion of censure to force the vote of no confidence against Bartomeu after captain Lionel Messi announced his intention to leave the club in August before deciding to stay.

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.