Villar, FIFA’s senior vice president, has been behind bars since police detained him, his son Gorka Villar and two other soccer officials during police raids of the national federation headquarters and other properties. Seeing no sign that Villar was willing to step down from the post he has held since 1988, Spain’s government decided to remove him in an attempt to limit the damage done to the national sport. The country’s top sports authority, the Higher Council of Sport, met Tuesday in Madrid and ruled to suspend Villar for one year, pending the outcome of the investigation that has rocked Spanish soccer. In a 44-page ruling that included several quotes from phone taps carried out by police, Pedraz detailed why state prosecutors allege that Villar used his influence as federation president to funnel private and public funds into regional federations in exchange for votes to remain in power for eight consecutive terms.