Spanish FA President And Son Arrested On Corruption Charges

Spanish police have arrested Ángel María Villar Llona, the president of Spain's football association, Real Federación Española de Fútbol. His son Gorka was one of a number of other people whp were also placed under arrest as part of a corruption investigation during a number of raids early on Tuesday.

Spain's Guardia Civil said in a statement issued earlier today that Villar Llona, his son and three other Spanish football officials were detained while raids were carried out at the federation headquarters in Madrid.

Police said the other three men were Juan Padron, the federation vice president of economic affairs, and both the president and the secretary of the regional federation for Tenerife.

All five men were arrested on charges of corruption as part of a large-scale investigation into the finances of the federations.

Moments after the raids, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, Spain's minister of education, culture and sport, told national television: "In Spain the laws are enforced, the laws are the same for all, and nobody, nobody is above the law."

Ángel Maria Villar Llona, arrives arrested at the Soccer City of Las Rozas. Credit: PA

Ángel María Villar Llona. Credit: PA

Uefa said in a statement it is "aware of the reports regarding Mr. Villar Llona. We have no comment to make at this time."

Villar Llona, a former Athletic Bilbao player, founded Spain's player's union (AFE) in 1978 before becoming RFEF chief in 1988. He became a vice president of FIFA in 2002, and was last year made acting chairman of the Organising Committee for the World Cup 2018.

Credit: PA

Ángel María Villar Llona. Credit: PA

Villar Llona's name hit headlines last year when his niece was kidnapped and murdered in Mexico.

Maria Villar, 36, was snatched from a cashpoint in the city of Toluca after taking an unlicensed taxi near her place of work. A ransom of less than £8,000 was reportedly paid to her captors, but she was later found dead with her arms and legs bound.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo confirmed her death during a radio interview, and said that her death caused him 'enormous sorrow and upset'.

Source: BBC

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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