Walter Finch
SPANISH police have raided the Granada home of disgraced ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales.
Sources have indicated that Rubiales was not arrested and is thought to currently be out of the country.
The Guardia Civil has also forcibly searched the Madrid headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) where they are reported to have made several arrests.
Among them is thought to be Rubiales’ right-hand man and legal fixer Tomas Gonzalez Cueto and the federations director of legal services.
The raids are believed to relate to suspicious contracts drawn up by Rubiales and his team which paved the way for the federation to hold the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The five-year deal saw the one-off cup match held in the Middle Eastern country for the first time in 2022.
The multi-million euro agreement was signed between Rubiales and the firm Kosmos, founded and headed by former Barca defender Gerard Pique.
The widespread raids are part of an investigation into allegations of business corruption, maladministration and money laundering.
Sources have indicated to El Pais that 11 homes and several organisations both public and private are to be searched.
Investigators are looking to make seven arrests and interrogate five others, according to these same sources.
The dramatic raids will spell more bad news for Rubiales, who will surely face police questioning at the least upon his return to Spain.
It marks a further fall from grace for the ex-boss of Spanish football, after he was forced to resign the post of the ‘kissgate’ scandal in the wake of the Women’s World Cup.
Rubiales kissed Spanish female football player Jenni Hermoso on the lips as she came to collect her medal in a move that a judge deemed to be ‘non-consensual.’
The inappropriate kiss was further compounded by hamfisted attempts by Rubiales and his camp to coerce Hermoso into publicly declaring he had done nothing wrong.
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