Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales was arrested as he returned to Spain from the Dominican Republic. EPA
Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales was arrested as he returned to Spain from the Dominican Republic. EPA
Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales was arrested as he returned to Spain from the Dominican Republic. EPA
Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales was arrested as he returned to Spain from the Dominican Republic. EPA

Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales arrested in corruption probe


  • English
  • Arabic

Luis Rubiales, the disgraced former president of the Spanish football federation, was on Wednesday arrested as part of a corruption investigation.

Rubiales, who is due to go on trial for sexual assault after kissing Spain player Jenni Hermoso after last year's Women's World Cup final, was detained at Madrid airport on his arrival from the Dominican Republic.

Rubiales is suspected of having received illegal commissions as part of the deal to stage the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

He has been under investigation by a Spanish court since June 2022 to determine whether he committed a crime of improper management when the federation agreed with former Barcelona player Gerard Pique's Kosmos company to move the Super Cup to the kingdom.

As part of a judicial review into corruption and money laundering, police searched a property in Granada belonging to Rubiales two weeks ago, while he was in the Dominican Republic.

Prosecutors also raided the offices of the Spanish football federation, the RFEF, in Madrid as part of the investigation. They also carried out searches on 11 other locations throughout Spain.

RFEF staff were barred from entering their headquarters during the search.

Seven people were detained by police and Rubiales was identified as one of five further individuals also under investigation.

Rubiales stepped down in September following the scandal that erupted after he kissed Hermoso without her consent after the World Cup final in which Spain beat England 1-0.

In the furore that followed the incident, Rubiales at first refused to resign, leading to many Spanish players including Hermoso threatening to boycott the team.

He was later banned from all football-related activities for three years by world governing body Fifa.

He is facing a trial for allegedly sexually assaulting Hermoso. Prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half-year jail term for Rubiales, who denies any wrongdoing.

Prosecutor Marta Durantez charged him with one count of sexual assault and one of coercion for his alleged actions in the aftermath of the kiss, offences carrying jail terms of one year and 18 months, respectively.

Both Hermoso and Rubiales, along with other colleagues, have given testimony to the investigating judge, who has recommended that the case proceed to trial.

RESULTS

5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m

Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.

While you're here
The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Power: 640hp

Torque: 760nm

On sale: 2026

Price: Not announced yet

Fixtures

Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am

Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am

Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am

Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Four-day collections of TOH

Day             Indian Rs (Dh)        

Thursday    500.75 million (25.23m)

Friday         280.25m (14.12m)

Saturday     220.75m (11.21m)

Sunday       170.25m (8.58m)

Total            1.19bn (59.15m)

(Figures in millions, approximate)

Nick's journey in numbers

Countries so far: 85

Flights: 149

Steps: 3.78 million

Calories: 220,000

Floors climbed: 2,000

Donations: GPB37,300

Prostate checks: 5

Blisters: 15

Bumps on the head: 2

Dog bites: 1

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm

Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3

The specs

Price: From Dh529,000

Engine: 5-litre V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 520hp

Torque: 625Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km

Barbie
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Greta%20Gerwig%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Margot%20Robbie%2C%20Ryan%20Gosling%2C%20Will%20Ferrell%2C%20America%20Ferrera%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Result

Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2

Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 630bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh810,000

Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: April 03, 2024, 12:12 PM`