Head of Spanish soccer federation arrested on corruption charges
Ángel María Villar, his son and other senior officials taken into custody and offices searched
In the latest scandal to hit Spanish soccer, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Ángel María Villar, was arrested on Tuesday morning as part of an ongoing operation targeting the upper echelons of the sport’s top body in the country.
The operation into alleged financial mismanagement by the federation president and his son began more than a year ago
His son Gorka Villar was also detained in a raid that involved numerous searches, and was expected to result in a dozen arrests, sources close to the investigation have told EL PAÍS.
The operation into alleged financial mismanagement by the federation president and his son began more than a year ago, and is being carried out under the supervision of Spanish High Court Judge Santiago Pedraz. Possible crimes under investigation include corruption, embezzlement, improper management and possible asset stripping.
Authorities believe Ángel María Villar may have used federation funds to pay off regional soccer chiefs in a bid to maintain control at the top of the powerful federation. Villar was returned to office for a new four-year term in May, the eighth such occasion on which he has seen his contract renewed.
He has now been in the top job at the RFEF for 29 years. If he serves out his current term – which he has said will be his last – that will extend out to 32 years of a tenure marked by close relationships with the top brass of world soccer’s top body FIFA, an organization that has been marked by a wave of recent corruption scandals.
English version by George Mills.
Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo
¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción?
Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro.
FlechaTu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo y solo puedes acceder a EL PAÍS desde un dispositivo a la vez.
Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium, así podrás añadir otro usuario. Cada uno accederá con su propia cuenta de email, lo que os permitirá personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAÍS.
¿Tienes una suscripción de empresa? Accede aquí para contratar más cuentas.
En el caso de no saber quién está usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contraseña aquí.
Si decides continuar compartiendo tu cuenta, este mensaje se mostrará en tu dispositivo y en el de la otra persona que está usando tu cuenta de forma indefinida, afectando a tu experiencia de lectura. Puedes consultar aquí los términos y condiciones de la suscripción digital.
More information
Archived In
Últimas noticias
More than 40 Democratic lawmakers urge Trump in a letter to stop his ‘attempts to undermine democracy in Brazil’
The journal ‘Science’ criticizes Trump’s anti-renewable energy policy: ‘The US is failing to benefit from its own innovations’
Cubans hope for a miracle as dengue and chikungunya spread
The long shadow of the father figure in the films of Rob Reiner
Most viewed
- Christian Louboutin: ‘Young people don’t want to be like their parents. And if their parents wear sneakers, they’re going to look for something else’
- Cartels in Mexico take a leap forward with narco-drones: ‘It is criminal groups that are leading the innovation race’
- ‘El Limones’ and the growing union disguise of Mexican organized crime
- Liset Menéndez de la Prida, neuroscientist: ‘It’s not normal to constantly seek pleasure; it’s important to be bored, to be calm’
- The low-cost creative revolution: How technology is making art accessible to everyone
