Former Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales was detained and released after questioning upon arriving in Madrid from an international flight, as reported by Spain’s Civil Guard.
The Civil Guard spokesperson confirmed that Rubiales was detained this morning upon landing at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport on a commercial flight from the Dominican Republic. He was taken into custody by the Civil Guard’s Central Operative Unit (UCO) on the runway and later driven away in a van.
The UCO, a division of the Spanish Civil Guard, is responsible for investigating and combating serious and organized crime within Spain.
Rubiales was released after providing testimony at the airport’s Terminal 4 Civil Guard unit and is now awaiting further legal proceedings.
In March, Spanish prosecutors had sought a prison term of two years and six months for Rubiales over an unwanted kiss to star forward Jennifer Hermoso following Spain’s World Cup victory.
Reports indicate that his recent detention is linked to an ongoing corruption investigation related to his time as RFEF president. The Civil Guard spokesperson clarified that the detention and questioning were part of a separate inquiry from the one overseen by the Spanish National Court regarding the incident with Hermoso, but did not provide additional details due to a Court decision.
