Police arrest Spanish soccer federation president and son

(FILES) This file photo taken on April 29, 2016 shows UEFA acting president Angel Maria Villar arriving to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the appeal of Michel Platini’s against his six-year FIFA ban for ethics violations in Lausanne.
The president of the Spanish Football Federation, Angel Maria Villar, was detained by police on July 18, 2017 as part of a corruption probe, a judicial source said. Villar, 67, a former Spanish international footballer, was being held on suspicion of abusing his position to embezzle funds from the federation, among other charges, the source said. / AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

MADRID— Spanish Football Federation president Angel Maria Villar was arrested Tuesday along with his son and two more federation executives as part of an anti-corruption probe.

The office of the state prosecutor in charge of anti-corruption said they suspect Villar, who is FIFA’s senior vice president and a UEFA vice president, of having arranged matches for Spain’s national team that led to business deals that benefited his son.

The state prosecutor and Spanish police both said that Villar, his son Gorka Villar, and two other soccer officials were detained while raids were carried out at the federation headquarters and other properties.

Police said the other two men who were arrested were Juan Padron, the federation’s vice president of economic affairs who is also the president of the regional federation for Tenerife, and the secretary of that regional federation. The four men were arrested on charges of improper management, misappropriation of funds, corruption and falsifying documents as part of a probe into the finances of the federations.

As part of an operation called “Soule,” the Guardia Civil’s anti-corruption unit said it raided the national federation’s headquarters on the outskirts of the Spanish capital, the offices of the regional soccer federation on the island of Tenerife, and “headquarters of businesses and several private homes linked to the arrested individuals.”

Police started the probe in early 2016 after a complaint was made by Spain’s Higher Council of Sport, the government’s sports authority.

The probe led the state prosecutor’s office to suspect that Angel Maria Villar “could have arranged matches of the Spanish national team with other national teams, thereby gaining in return contracts for services and other business ventures in benefit of his son.”

The prosecutor’s office said they suspect that Padron and the secretary of the regional federation of Tenerfe “favored the contraction of business” for their personal benefit.

Inigo Mendez de Vigo, Spain’s minister of education, culture and sport, told national television moments after the raids that “in Spain the laws are enforced, the laws are the same for all, and nobody, nobody is above the law.”

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

The 67-year-old Villar has been the head of Spain’s soccer federation since 1988, overseeing its national team’s victories in the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.

Villar has also been at the heart of FIFA and UEFA politics since the 1990s, and has worked closely with several international soccer leaders who have since been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

His son, Gorka, worked in recent years for South American body CONMEBOL as legal director then as the CEO-like director general for three presidents who were implicated in the American federal investigation. Gorka Villar left CONMEBOL in July 2016.

Angel Maria Villar was a tough midfielder for Athletic Bilbao and Spain before retiring to work as a lawyer and soccer administrator. He was elected to the UEFA executive committee 25 years ago, and to FIFA’s ruling committee 19 years ago. He has also been an influential figure in the legal and referees committees of both organizations.

Increasingly seen as a polarizing figure with leadership ambitions, Villar decided against trying to succeed Michel Platini as UEFA president last year.

Before joining CONMEBOL, Gorka Villar was a prominent sports lawyer in Madrid. He helped represent cyclist Alberto Contador in a failed appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against losing the 2010 Tour de France title after a positive doping test.