Spanish Football President Arrested

(ATR) The head of Spain’s football federation (RFEF) is under arrest as part of a Spanish anti-corruption investigation.

Angel Maria Villar, who is also a UEFA vice president and a FIFA vice president, was taken into custody on Tuesday along with his son Gorka and other RFEF officials after a raid on several offices in Madrid, according to media reports.

Allegations include embezzlement, fraud and the falsification of documents related to the organization of international football matches.

Villar has been the head of the RFEF for nearly 30 years and had just been re-elected in May.

He served as UEFA’s acting president for almost a year, beginning in October 2015 after Michel Platini was suspended.

He made an unsuccessful run to succeed Platini as UEFA president, instead standing for re-election as RFEF president.

FIFA’s Ethics Committee fined him 25,000 Swiss francs ($26,000) in November 2015 for failing to co-operate with an investigation into the host bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Both FIFA and UEFA issued separate statements that essentially said the same thing: they were aware of the media reports surrounding Villar and had no further comment.

The RFEF has so far not issued a statement on the matter.

Written by Gerard Farek

For general comments or questions,click here.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.