Disgraced ex-Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales is ARRESTED as he flies back from the Dominican Republic as he faces corruption questions while at risk of jail over World Cup kiss-gate

Former Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales – who was at the heart of Spain’s ‘Kissgate’ scandal – was arrested by authorities on Wednesday, according to reports.

Detectives were waiting for him as he stepped off an Air Europa flight from the Dominican Republic, which landed at Madrid’s Barajas Airport just after 10:30 a.m. local time.

According to IFRubiales was placed under Guardia Civil custody as soon as he stepped off the plane and was escorted into a police van.

Speculation ran overnight as to whether the 46-year-old father of three would be arrested and taken in handcuffs from the arrivals hall, where he would be met by an army of journalists and photographers waiting for him.

He will be taken to a police station where he is expected to be formally read his rights and handed a judicial summons as part of an ongoing corruption investigation linked to his time as head of the Spanish Football Federation and focusing on business deals believed that they include one to hold the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

A judge is expected to question him in a closed court hearing in the coming days before he is released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.

The investigation, led by a judge based in Majadahonda, on the outskirts of Madrid, is separate from the separate ‘Kissgate’ investigation.

Last month, prosecutors involved in the case said they had sought a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence over the “unwanted” kiss Rubiales gave to footballer Jenni Hermoso after the Spanish women’s World Cup victory over England last August.

They said in a complaint to Madrid-based judge Francisco de Jorge that they wanted him to serve a year in prison if found guilty in a trial for sexual assault and another year and a half for coercion related to his alleged attempts to kidnap the footballer. seduce speaks out in his defense after his World Cup kiss.

Around the same time, Spanish prosecutors asked to arrest Rubiales for alleged financial irregularities while he was in charge of the Spanish Football Federation.

Rubiales’ home in the southern Spanish city of Granada was one of several properties searched on March 20, but he was already in the Caribbean.

Rubiales had already said he would return to Spain and insisted this would be on April 6, but overnight it emerged that he had changed his travel plans.

He is believed to have avoided an embarrassing arrest and a photo of him in handcuffs after confirming his voluntary return ahead of and following a Spanish police operation in the Dominican Republic on Monday with the help of local officers.

He delayed his return to Madrid after Spanish police investigators flew to the Caribbean and seized his phone and laptop during a reported search of the property where he was staying on the Caribbean island.

Rubiales has denied any wrongdoing in both the ongoing corruption investigation and the ‘Kissgate’ case.

In a TV interview with Spanish journalist Ana Pastor, to be shown on La Sexta tonight, he will deny allegations that he embezzled millions of pounds from the Spanish Football Association, insisting: ‘My money is the product of my work and my savings .’

He is also expected to accuse the judge who charged him with coercion and assault over his “unwanted” Jenni Hermoso kiss of manipulation, saying, “I think his way of describing my words is manipulative.”

An excerpt of the interview released last night shows Rubiales, who went to the Dominican Republic earlier this year for work reasons, reacted angrily to claims by Ana Pastor that his defense had attacked the footballer.

Pastor was on the same plane as the former Spanish Football Federation chief, who had seat number 25L, and described the flight as “eventful”, saying there had been turbulence and several people had fainted.

The defiant Rubiales vowed to ‘defend his innocence’ after announcing on September 10 last year that he would resign as president of the Spanish Football Federation following the ‘Kissgate’ scandal. He was subsequently banned from football by FIFA for three years.

He tweeted when his dismissal decision was made public: “I will defend my honor. I will defend my innocence.

‘I have confidence in the future. I have faith in the truth. Thanks everyone.’

He concluded his tweet by posting a photo of the Spanish flag.

Rubiales, who had apologized for grabbing his crotch in front of Spain’s Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter during the post-final World Cup celebrations, had said in a lengthy statement before announcing his decision to quit : ‘The spontaneity and happiness of the historical moment led us to perform a mutual and consensual act, a product of great enthusiasm.

‘At no time was there any aggression, in fact there was not even the slightest discomfort, but an overflowing joy from both of us.’

Rubiales’ 72-year-old mother, Angeles Bejar, went on hunger strike for two days in a church in her son’s hometown of Motril, near Granada, after being rushed to hospital 48 hours after her protest.

She said at the time that she launched it to get Jenni to “tell the truth” about the kiss.

Before she became ill, she said from church, “I just want the truth to be told.

‘She knows my son is very honest. If she tells the truth, everything will be fine.”

No date has yet been announced for his trial over his Jenni Hermoso kiss.

Rubiales has not been formally charged with any crime as part of Operation Brody, the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities while he was president of the Spanish Football Federation.

However, a judge is investigating him on suspicion of corruption and money laundering, among other things.

Respected Spanish daily El Mundo said police investigators have concluded that Rubiales diverted at least 3.8 million euros (£3.25 million) from the Spanish Football Federation to a construction company that paid him kickbacks through a company controlled by a close friend.