Spanish FA President Arrested on Corruption Charges

On Tuesday the president of Spain’s football association, Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol, Angel Maria Villar Llona, was arrested.

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Spain’s Guardia Civil, in a statement on Tuesday, said the arrests were made during raids carried out at the football federation's headquarters in Madrid.

Following the raids, Spain’s Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, said: “In Spain, the laws are enforced, the laws are the same for all, and nobody is above the law.”

Villar Llona, his son Gorka and three other Federation executives were taken into custody as part of an anti-corruption investigation.

Police revealed the other three men to be Juan Padron, the Federation vice president of economic affairs, and both the president and the secretary of the Regional Federation for Tenerife.

According to the authorities, the five men were arrested on charges of corruption as part of an ongoing investigation into the finances of the federations.

The Union of European Football Associations issued a statement acknowledging that it was "aware of the reports regarding Mr. Villar Llona”, but otherwise decline to comment.