Luis Rubiales, the disgraced former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has been arrested and later released upon his return to the country as part of an ongoing corruption investigation.
Spain’s Civil Guard said Wednesday that Rubiales was arrested and questioned by police at Madrid airport after getting off a plane and was released hours later.
An investigating judge is expected to summon him for further questioning in the coming days.
His lawyer, Margrita Crespo, said Rubiales was asked to accompany officers to a police station, where they read him his rights, took his fingerprints and searched his personal belongings.
The lawyer added, however, that Rubiales had not been informed of anything and had been allowed to leave without any restrictions.
Rubiales was returning to Spain on a flight from the Dominican Republic, where he had spent two months on what he described as a business trip.
He cut his stay abroad short by three days, after initially telling the court he would return on Saturday.
Luis Rubiales denies corruption charges against him. (AP: Manu Fernandez, file)
While he was abroad, police raided offices and properties linked to an investigation into allegations of corruption, mismanagement and money laundering during his tenure as RFEF president.
A Madrid court has been investigating since June 2022 whether he committed the crime of mismanagement when the RFEF agreed with former FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué’s company Kosmos to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia, a deal worth an estimated 120 million euros (around $200 million today).
Seven people were arrested by police and Rubiales was identified as one of five others under investigation. He has denied any wrongdoing.
On March 20, police raided the RFEF headquarters outside Madrid and Rubiales’ apartment in Granada, southern Spain, as well as a football stadium in Seville.
In a brief excerpt from a recorded interview with Spanish television channel La Sexta, Rubiales denied a series of what he called false claims made by Spanish media, including that he had accepted bribes, and said his income was the product of his work and savings.
Rubiales also confirmed that Spanish police raided his temporary accommodation in the Dominican Republic on Monday, seizing a mobile phone.
Saudi Arabia’s decision in question
During his tenure as president of Spanish football, Rubiales overhauled the format of the Spanish Super Cup in 2020, creating a four-team mini-tournament and moving the competition to Saudi Arabia.
Prosecutors opened an investigation into the deal in 2022 after leaked audio emerged of Rubiales and then-Barcelona player Gerard Pique discussing millions of dollars in commissions.
Pique’s sports entertainment company, Kosmos, was involved in the deal with the federation and Saudi Arabia.
A company official told The Associated Press that no Kosmos employees have been arrested or placed under investigation and that no company property has been searched.
The corruption and money laundering investigation focuses on contracts for the Spanish Super Cup and the federation’s links with Seville’s La Cartuja stadium, which hosts the Copa del Rey final and some international matches, among other agreements.
Spain’s Jenni Hermoso and RFEF president Luis Rubiales after the match at Stadium Australia. (Reuters: Hannah McKay)
Rubiales resigned as federation president in September after causing an international scandal for kissing Spanish player Jenni Hermoso without her consent during the Women’s World Cup final.
He is facing trial for allegedly sexually assaulting HermosoHe has denied any wrongdoing in the matter, saying the kiss was consensual.
AP/Reuters
