International Football
FIFA representatives have travelled to Madrid to meet with the Spanish government and Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) following a number of recent scandals at Spanish’s football governing body.
FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom and FIFA legal director Emilio Silvero are in Madrid on Thursday for a meeting with Spain’s Superior Sports Council (the CSD) — the government agency responsible for the country’s sporting policy — with the aim of stabilising the situation at the RFEF.
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Spain’s role at the 2030 World Cup, which the country is co-hosting alongside Morocco and Portugal, is also expected to be discussed.
The pair are then set to meet with the RFEF on Friday.
The Athletic reported on Friday the acting head of the RFEF, Pedro Rocha, would be travelling to FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, this week to reassure the world governing body of changes his organisation is making following the recent scandals.
Rocha and FIFA president Gianni Infantino previously met in London to speak about the federation’s situation.
FIFA sent a letter to the federation asking for explanations over how it is dealing with the recent scandals. RFEF sources said this consisted of five questions that centred on this month’s raid of its headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged corruption among other potential crimes. The search took place hours before Rocha and his committee were due to meet to formally announce a date for the presidential vote.
The CSD has also held talks with FIFA to express concerns over the state of the federation. Sources from the council say it offered to help FIFA if it wanted to intervene in the RFEF ahead of the 2030 World Cup.
Last month, RFEF headquarters and the home of its former president Luis Rubiales were searched as part of an investigation into alleged corruption during his five years in charge.
Investigators have confirmed they are looking at potential crimes including corruption, money laundering and misuse of federation funds between 2018 and 2023, potentially including the deal that took the Supercopa de Espana (Spain’s equivalent of England’s Community Shield) to Saudi Arabia and the construction work at Seville’s Estadio de la Cartuja.
Rubiales was detained and questioned immediately after landing in Madrid on Wednesday morning as part of the anti-corruption investigation.
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Rubiales, who resigned as RFEF president in September, having been suspended by FIFA over his kiss on Spain forward Jenni Hermoso after the Women’s World Cup final in August, was travelling back from the Dominican Republic.
According to Guardia Civil sources, Rubiales was informed he was being indicted and his lawyer was called so they could be present during questioning. Rubiales invoked his right not to testify and was released. However, he is expected to be called to testify when a warrant for his arrest is issued by an investigating judge, the same sources said.
GO DEEPER
Spanish football’s fresh crisis: Rubiales latest and the RFEF raids explained
(Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)
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Guillermo began his career covering Real Madrid and the sports industry for Diario AS. He later moved to London and became AS and Cadena Ser correspondent. He has since returned to Madrid and joins us at The Athletic where he will deliver Real Madrid news, interviews, stories, and more.
