The police raided the headquarters of the Real spanish soccer federation (RFEF) in Madrid and an apartment of its former president Luis Rubialesand arrested seven people in an investigation for alleged corruption over a multimillion-dollar deal to transfer the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
A Spanish court has been investigating since June 2022 whether Rubiales committed a crime of unfair administration when the RFEF agreed with the company Cosmosfrom the former Barcelona player Gerard Piquéthe transfer of the tournament, reported a judicial source.
The Reuters news agency unsuccessfully attempted to contact Rubiales, who had previously denied wrongdoing. The RFEF only limited itself to issuing a statement on its official website.
Five people were arrested in Madrid and two in Granada in relation to the caseThe Spanish Civil Guard told Reuters, without giving names or further details.
Rubiales angered Spanish soccer traditionalists by expanding the competition between the Spanish League and Copa del Rey champions to a four-team format, moving the event from August to January and holding it outside the country.
The RFEF agreed in 2019 to a three-year agreement worth a reported 120 million euros ($131 million) with the Saudi sports authority to organize the renewed competition in the cradle of Islam.
The judge Delia Rodrigo Diaz He ordered the new searches at the headquarters of Spanish football’s governing body in Madrid and at Rubiales’ apartment in Granada as part of his investigation, the source told Reuters.
The Prosecutor’s Office said that it was being investigated corruption in business, unfair administration of assets and money laundering.
The police carried out 11 raids in unspecified locations throughout Spain related to the case and The Prosecutor’s Office said it expected seven people to be detained.
While the Civil Guard and undercover agents searched the offices, the men’s team trained in the adjacent field. The team will face Colombia on Friday in London and Brazil on Tuesday, in two friendly matches.
Meanwhile, agency personnel were prohibited from entering the building. The press who were there to cover the training and interview the players were closely watched as the police carried out searches that began at 1am and continued for a long period of time.
Rubiales’ home was also raided. The images showed several Civil Guard agents leaving the apartment in central Granada with a cardboard box labeled “Luis Rubiales”, along with several other bags.
Rubiales’ embarrassing history with forward Jenni Hermoso
The investigation adds to Rubiales’ legal problems after he was accused of sexual assault and coercion for his non-consensual kiss on the mouth of forward Jenni Hermoso during celebrations following Spain’s victory in the Women’s World Cup last year.
Both Hermoso and Rubiales, along with other colleagues, have given statements before the investigating judge, who has recommended that the case go to trial.
Rubiales’ mandate was plagued with controversies, including the surprising decision to dismiss the coach of the men’s team Julen Lopetegui two days before their first match of the 2018 World Cup.
Rubiales resigned as president of the RFEF in September and was disqualified by FIFA from all football activities for three years.
Source: Ambito
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