Rubiales denied taking bribes in interview the day before his arrest

On Wednesday, former RFEF president Luis Rubiales was briefly detained upon his arrival at the Madrid airport in connection with a corruption investigation. Rubiales was allegedly involved in a bribery Scandal during his time as president of the Spanish soccer federation.

While on a trip to the Dominican Republic, his house as well as the RFEF headquarters were searched by police. During the raid on the headquarters, three others were arrested - Pedro Gonzalez Segura, the RFEF legal director; Jose Javier Jimenez, the human resources chief; and Tomas Gonzalez Cueto, the external legal adviser for the federation. The day before his return, Rubiales gave an interview, denying all accusations.

“I have never accepted a bribe in my life. Never.”

The next day, Rubiales was escorted by police off the plane after it arrived at Madrid Barajas airport and was released shortly after. The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into “crimes related to business corruption, fraudulent administration and money laundering,” according to judicial sources.

The RFEF contracts signed in 2018, including one signed by Rubiales to host the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, are being investigated. The investigation was opened in 2022 when audio recordings of Rubiales and Gerard Piqué (who owns Kosmos, the company brokering the Spanish Super Cup deal worth $43.3 million) were leaked. In them, they spoke about multi-million commissions. Rubiales and Piqué both maintain that the deal was done legally and Rubiales says that “all the money in my bank accounts is the result of my work and my savings.” Before his return to Spain, the Guardia Civil flew to the Dominican Republic to search the place where Rubiales was staying and take his laptop and cell phone.

“If it’s true that someone recorded us, then they’ll see that I’ve never taken a kickback with [Gerard] Piqué. Piqué never offered anything, and I never took anything.”

“I really want to get there and speak to the judge,” Rubiales continued. “And I offered to go on day one.”