Luis Rubiales detained - ex Spanish football chief stopped at Madrid airport as financial probe continues

Former Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales was detained on the runway of a Madrid airport on Wednesday morning. The 46-year-old was greeted by members of the Civil Guard as he stepped off an Air Europa flight from the Dominican Republic to the Barajas Airport in the Spanish capital at around 10:30 am local time. Rubiales was then taken into a police van and escorted to the police headquarters in Tres Cantos.

Footage of the moment emerged on social media that showed the former football chief being put in a blacked-out van with two Civil Guards before leaving the airport. Rubiales is expected to be formally read his rights and handed a court summons at the station.

It comes as Rubiales faces ongoing probes into his time as head of the Spanish FA and, in particular, business deals including one believed to facilitate the Spanish Super Cup being held in Saudi Arabia. The Daily Mail reports that a judge will question Rubiales in a closed court hearing 'in the coming days' before he is released on bail pending the probe. The investigation is unrelated to the case involving Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso and last year's Women's World Cup final.

Hermoso and prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half year prison sentence after Rubiales allegedly kissed the player against her consent after Spain won the competition last August.

It was around the same time that Spanish public prosecutors also asked Rubiales to be arrested over alleged financial discrepancies when in charge of the Spanish FA. Rubiales' home in Granada was one of several properties searched last month when he was in the Caribbean. He has denied any wrongdoing in both cases.

The former football chief was expected to return to Spain on April 6 but the Daily Mail reports that he changed his travel plans in a bid to avoid an embarrassing arrest and photo of himself in handcuffs. Rubiales returned voluntarily after Spanish police investigators flew to the Caribbean and confiscated his phone and laptop during a reported search of a home he had been residing in.