dhe of the judiciary of the corruption The former president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, accused of assault and sexual assault, has been arrested upon his return home. Rubiales was initially detained on Wednesday at the Adolfo Suárez airport in Madrid-Barajas by agents of the responsible Civil Guard and released again shortly after. This was reported by state television RTVE and other media.
There was no official announcement regarding this. However, when asked by the German Press Agency, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard stated that the RTVE report was correct. Rubiales had denied all the accusations against him.
Corruption and money laundering?
After a stay in the Dominican Republic, Rubiales would have landed on a scheduled flight on Wednesday. Madrid. He was received by officials at the airport and informed about his situation, according to RTVE. It is expected that he will soon receive a summons from the judge in charge to be heard in the matter of the alleged irregular contracts.
Rubiales is being investigated for alleged irregular contracts entered into during his five years as president of the RFEF. The alleged crimes in this matter include commercial corruption, unfair administration and Money laundering.
Criminal investigations are also being carried out in Spain against the 46-year-old player for the kissing scandal at the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia, which caused a stir around the world. Rubiales kissed player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the awards ceremony after winning the World Cup title. Hermoso disputed Rubiales' claim that the kiss was consensual.
Rubiales resigned as president of the association last September after the kissing scandal.. Because of the affair, he was suspended for three years by the world association FIFA, among others. The Spaniard has denied all accusations, including those of corruption. In both cases, the former official faces several years in prison. In Spain, prison sentences of up to two years are usually suspended.
According to Spanish media reports, the Spanish Football Federation has scheduled the election of a new president for May 6.