Spanish FA boss, others, arrested over corruption claims

The Spanish football federation has come under fire following the arrest of its president, Angel Maria Villar, in a major anti-corruption probe.

Following this recent development, the federation has pushed back a draw for the upcoming football league calendar until Friday following the arrest of Villar and others.

The draw to decide fixtures for the first and second divisions, originally scheduled for today, will now take place Friday at 12:30pm (10:30 GMT) at the federation’s headquarters, it said in a Twitter message.

The federation postponed the scheduled meeting from Thursday to Friday in the wake of the arrest of Angel Maria Villar in a major anti-corruption probe.

His son Gorka, along with federation vice-president and financial chief Juan Padron, were also held in connection with the probe, which notably focuses on allegations of skimming profits from international matches.

Earlier on Wednesday, the head of Spain’s government sports council, Jose Ramon Lete, had said the draw would go ahead despite the arrests and cancelled meetings.

“The draw, which is a purely administrative act, will take place,” he told reporters.

The 2017-18 first division season will begin the weekend of August 19-20 and end on May 20, 2018.