Reform proposals rejected

If after winning two consecutive league titles, Ramón Calderón cannot ease through his desired reforms to the club's statutes, it is hard to see whether he will ever be able to. At today's Extraordinary General Assembly, the proposals were heavily rejected (by 682 votes to 150, with 34 abstentions) by the current raft of socios compromisarios. Many of those present called for the president's resignation, criticising him for "dragging the club through the courts".

In a tense three-and-a-half hour meeting, the legality of the proposals was questioned, and they were criticised for giving too much power to the board of directors at the expense of the socios. As this was an all-or-nothing vote, it was not possible to at least address the serious issues regarding the electoral procedures that caused all the legal problems following the last presidential election. However, as the current process has been deemed to be illegal by a Madrid court, something will have to be done before any new elections can take place (in theory, not due until 2010).