Monday, August 28, 2023

Wild allegations about the Royal Spanish Football Federation

First, here's Daily Mail's write-up today of proposed self-sabotage to deter anyone from speaking out against the president:

In a shocking development on Monday, the Spanish FA have urged European governing body UEFA to consider expelling them due to the Spanish government's intervention over the ongoing World Cup 'kiss-gate' saga which saw £214,000-a-year official Rubiales kiss Spain star Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without her consent.

If this request is granted, it would mean all Spanish clubs - including global giants Real and Barcelona - would be excluded from UEFA competitions like the Champions League (also affecting Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad), Europa League (Villarreal and Real Betis) and the Europa Conference League (Osasuna).

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Onda Cero's sources claim the reason UEFA have not yet spoken out on the scandal is because their president Aleksander Ceferin is personal friends with Rubiales. 

And just a small portion from ESPN's timeline:

May 2022: Accused of illicit recordings

El Confidencial accused Rubiales of recording compromising conversations and telephone calls with members of government, dating back to his election in 2018. "We want to make it clear that the president never made any recordings of the president, any minister or any member of [the political party] Podemos," the RFEF said at the time.

June 2022: Battles with LaLiga chief

Rubiales' tenure has also seen him in regular conflict with LaLiga president Javier Tebas. Rubiales criticised Tebas for wanting to take LaLiga games to the U.S., though Tebas later pointed out how the RFEF had taken the Super Cup to Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Things came to a head last year when Tebas said an RFEF official had recorded a private conversation with him. The vice secretary of the RFEF, Miguel GarcĂ­a Caba, admitted to the recording, although he said the meeting was set up because LaLiga wanted to "poach" him and he was protecting himself.

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September 2022: Allegations of misusing RFEF money for private parties

Juan Rubiales, Rubiales' uncle and former chief of staff, told prosecutors that private parties, often of a sexual nature, were organised by the RFEF chief with money from the federation. The RFEF denied the allegations and took legal action against Juan Rubiales, which it won.