Rubiales: “It’s a mafia but you won’t see me in a gutter with a shot in the neck”

Far from resigning over the ‘Super Cup case’, as some sectors had naively speculated, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (FEF) made a firm defense of his management this Wednesday and denied any illegality in the agreement to play this tournament in Saudi Arabia for six years, now extended to ten, thanks to mediation by which Kosmos, Gerard Piqué’s company, received 24 million euros, 10% of the total.

There was great expectation before the appearance of Luis Rubiales in the Ciudad del Fútbol de las Rozas, the first since the scandal broke out on Monday, but almost nothing went out of the traditional script in this type of case. The senior federative leader moved under three premises: the agreement with the Arabs was a “great benefit” for Spanish football, especially the modest one, and revitalized the competition; charging commissions for intermediation work is a common practice and they were also paid by the Saudis, never by the FEF; and all the information comes from the “theft” of his mobile phone and from a “mafia campaign” to discredit him.

In his presentation, before submitting to the questions of the journalists, Rubiales showed his indignation “for all the falsehoods that are being poured”, he assured that from the first day he took office he has suffered a “campaign of attacks”, with up to 25 complaints filed, and insisted that the most important thing is that “the audios have been obtained illegally.”

Rubiales threw the stone and hid his hand when he said on several occasions that both he and the journalists know who is the beneficiary of all this. “I launch the issue but it is the media and the police who must investigate it,” remarked the president of the FEF during a long appearance of two and a half hours in which, without citing him, Javier Tebas always appeared in the shadow of suspicion. , president of LaLiga.

The leader adhered to an “exemplary and exemplary” agreement, since it involves social work in Saudi Arabia that allowed women access to stadiums, and very positive for national football, since 50% of the income They are intended for grassroots football. And, above all, he made it clear that “the FEF has not paid, nor does it pay, nor will it pay any commission to anyone” and that the person who has paid it to the Barça footballer’s company is a third party.

Resignation?: «If someone is able to get information from my phone, where I have videos and photos with my daughters, and to lie, there is no doubt that I am on the good side and I will continue. I am a fighter and an honest guy. Lies cannot end good management,” said Rubiales.

“A sack of cocaine”

“I ask for a rectification of the information and I ask the media to focus on the crime or crimes that I have suffered,” emphasized the senior leader of Spanish football, ‘Rubi’ for his friend ‘Geri’ in the audios. Having said that, he confessed that he is worried about his family and that of the Barça defender and went on to say that he does not drink and does not smoke but cannot guarantee that “tomorrow they will not put a sack of cocaine in the trunk of the car”. “This is a mob. I don’t think it will get to the point where you see me dead in a gutter with a shot to the back of the neck, but I feel my rights have been violated,” he added.

He described his management as “unpolluted”, with an “international transparency index that has gone from 2.7 to 10”, explained that the FEF cannot reach all parties and that is why the appearance of Kosmos was necessary to sign this contract, and flatly rejected that the Super Cup contract violates the federative code of ethics. “Each Spaniard has his morals, but in the FEF we are governed by our own bodies and we have passed three filters,” he stressed. “There is no conflict of interest because we have no economic or commercial relationship with Piqué and his company,” Rubiales insisted.

At this point, he was questioned about the statements of José Manuel Franco, Secretary of State for Sport, in which he doubted the ethics and aesthetics that emanate from the ‘Super Cup case’ when Piqué exercised as a soccer player, participant in the tournament and contract negotiator. «The president of the CSD said two things. One that I respect but in which I do not agree and another that is not very edifying because the information has been stolen from me and I have not authorized to publish anything.

Rubiales also denied that the FEF threatened Saudi Arabia with breaking the contract if Kosmos did not collect the commission and was surprised to reveal that there are more active soccer players who have offered themselves as intermediaries in the Las Rozas Soccer City. He lamented that this type of self-serving actions could damage the image of the body he presides over and even harm the possible election of Spain to organize a World Cup.

The boss of Spanish football was more ambiguous when asked if his salary increases with the Super Cup in Arabia and, above all, as Cholo Simeone, coach of Atlético, highlighted when he heard the audios, it increases if they participate in Real Madrid and the Barcelona. He justified that the two greats charge at least four times more than the rest due to their greater impact, as is the case with the television rights managed by LaLiga or UEFA in the Champions League.

Speaking of retribution, once again Rubiales launched a volley at Thebes. He opposed the model of LaLiga, in which its president receives, according to what he said, three million euros, and that of the FEF, with a much lower fixed salary, which according to the assembly approved amounts to about 650,000 euros per year, and a variable remuneration of 0.15% depending on its management. And at this point he said that his agency has quadrupled his income since his election.