Sports

Breaking: Ex-Spanish FA president, Luis Rubiales is detained by police to face corruption questions amid World Cup kiss-gate

Former Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales has been detained by Spanish authorities to face corruption questions while at risk of jail over World Cup kiss-gate

 

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

Detectives detained him as he stepped off an Air Europa flight from the Dominican Republic which landed at Madrid’s Barajas Airport just after 10.30am local time today, April 3.

 

Advertisement

 

Rubiales was placed in the custody of the Civil Guard as soon as he got off the plane and was escorted into a police van and taken to their headquarters in Tres Cantos.

 

Advertisement

 

He will taken to a police station where he is expected to be formally read his rights and handed a court summons as part of an ongoing corruption probe linked to his time as head of the Spanish FA and focusing on business deals thought to include one to hold the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. 

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

A judge is expected to question him in a closed court hearing in the coming days before being released on bail pending an ongoing probe.

 

Advertisement

 

The investigation, led by a judge based in Majadahonda on the outskirts of Madrid, is unrelated to the separate ‘Kissgate’ probe.

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

Last month public prosecutors involved in that case said they were seeking a two-and-a-half year prison sentence over the ‘unwanted’ kiss Rubiales gave footballer Jenni Hermoso following the Spain’s World Cup women’s team’s finals victory over England last August.

 

Advertisement

 

They said in an indictment sent to Madrid-based judge Francisco de Jorge they wanted him jailed for a year if he was found guilty at trial of sexual assault and another one and a half years for coercion linked to his alleged attempts to get the footballer to speak out in his defence following his World Cup kiss.

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

Around the same time Spanish public prosecutors asked for Rubiales to be arrested over alleged financial irregularities while he was in charge of the Spanish FA.

 

Advertisement

 

Rubiales’ home in the southern Spanish city of Granada was one of several properties searched on March 20 but he was already in the Caribbean.

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

Rubiales had already said he would return to Spain and insisted it would be on April 6 but overnight it emerged he had changed his travel plans.

 

Advertisement

 

He is thought to have avoided an embarrassing arrest, and a photo of him in handcuffs, after confirming his voluntary return ahead of and after a Spanish police operation in the Dominican Republic on Monday with assistance from local officers.

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

He rescheduled his return to Madrid after Spanish police investigators flew to the Caribbean and confiscated his phone and a laptop during a reported search of the property he has been staying at on the Caribbean island.

 

Advertisement

 

Rubiales has denied any wrongdoing in both the ongoing corruption probe and the ‘Kissgate’ case.

Advertisement

 

 

Advertisement

In a TV interview with Spanish journalist Ana Pastor, set to be screened tonight on La Sexta, he will deny allegations he embezzled millions of pounds from the Spanish FA and insist: ‘My money is the product of my work and my savings.’

 

Advertisement

 

He is also expected to accuse the judge who charged him with coercion and sexual assault over his ‘unwanted’ Jenni Hermoso kiss of manipulation by saying: ‘I think his way of describing my words is manipulative.’

Advertisement
citynews

Recent Posts

Breaking: FIRS Announces Fresh Recruitment, See Eligibility Criteria, Application Deadline

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has begun its recruitment exercise for experienced professionals to…

14 hours ago

Primate Ayodele’s Prophecies For 2025

Primate Elijah Ayodele Unveils 94-Page Prophecy for 2025, Makes Striking Predictions About Nigeria’s Political and…

16 hours ago

Tinubu’s Aide Condemns Plan To Reinstall ‘Jesus Is Not God’ Banner In Lekki Mosque

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement (North Central), Abiodun Essiet,…

19 hours ago

President Tinubu’s reforms not responsible for food stampedes – FG

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has warned politicians against linking stampedes…

19 hours ago

I will be more influential in Nigeria than UK – Tobi Adegboyega

Tobi Adegboyega, founder of the Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church (SPAC Nation), has stated that he…

19 hours ago

Petrol To Sell ₦‎935/Litre From Today – IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said that petrol is going to sell…

19 hours ago