A Spanish judge on Tuesday summoned disgraced former national soccer coach Luis Rubiales to testify on April 29 over an alleged corruption scandal during his time as president of the RFEF.
The 46-year-old returned to Spain from the Dominican Republic on April 3, but was briefly detained at the airport as part of an investigation into federation contracts signed since 2018, including the Spanish Super Cup. It also included a deal signed by Rubiales to hold the event in Saudi Arabia.
“At 10 a.m. on Monday, April 29 (8 a.m. Japan time), the court summoned Luis Rubiales to testify as a subject of the investigation,” the Madrid court said in a statement.
Rubiales' return to Spain comes two weeks after investigators searched 11 locations, including RFEF's headquarters in Madrid and his home in Granada in the south, as part of an investigation into corruption and other crimes.
Judiciary sources said the March 20 raid was part of an “investigation related to putative crimes related to business corruption, maladministration and money laundering.”
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The Super Cup contract is worth 40 million euros (approximately $43.3 million) per year, and the deal is brokered by Cosmos, a company owned by former Barcelona and Spain national team defender Gerard Pique.
During the raid, police arrested RFEF's legal director Pedro González Segura, human resources director José Javier Jiménez, and the federation's external legal advisor Tomás González Cueto.
The next day, RFEF fired both men and terminated González Cueto's contract with his firm, GC Legal.
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Rubiales was forced to resign as RFEF coach in September last year after he forcibly kissed Women's World Cup star Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Sydney final in August. .
He is to stand trial over the non-consensual kissing, which could be classified as sexual assault under Spanish law.
In 2022, prosecutors launched an investigation into the Super Cup contract after audio recordings of Rubiales and Pique discussing multi-million yen worth of fees were leaked.
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Mr. Rubiales has always defended the legality of the deal to host the Super Cup in the oil-rich Gulf state, and in April 2022 Mr. Pique insisted that everything was “legal” and called off the deal. “I'm proud,” he said.
In a television interview last week, Rubiales denied any wrongdoing, saying he had “never accepted a bribe” or “rigged a contract” in his life, and said he had never “rigged a contract” in his life, leading to the Spanish Super Cup being held in Saudi Arabia. He said the decision to do so was “because it was the best.” Offer”.
In 2020, the Spanish Super Cup was held in Saudi Arabia for the first time.
He returned to Spain for a year during the coronavirus pandemic, but the next three tournaments were held in Saudi Arabia.
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