MADRID, July 20: Angel Maria Villar, UEFA's longest-serving vice president, is standing in the election to succeed Michel Platini as the head of European soccer.
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The Spanish federation president announced his candidacy ahead of Wednesday's deadline for September's UEFA presidential election.
Villar is set to be challenged for the presidency by Michael van Praag, a UEFA vice president from the Netherlands, and Slovenia federation head Aleksander Ceferin.
Platini has been forced to relinquish the presidency as he serves a four-year ban from world soccer but Villar has his own history with the FIFA ethics committee.
He was issued with a warning last year for an indecent remark in 2014 to then-FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia during an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid contests.