Spain’s La Liga draw postponed after arrests
(FILES) This file photo taken on April 29, 2016 shows UEFA acting president Angel Maria Villar arriving to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the appeal of Michel Platini’s against his six-year FIFA ban for ethics violations in Lausanne. The president of the Spanish Football Federation, Angel Maria Villar, was detained by police on July 18, 2017 as part of a corruption probe, a judicial source said. Villar, 67, a former Spanish international footballer, was being held on suspicion of abusing his position to embezzle funds from the federation, among other charges, the source said. / AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI
The Spanish football federation has pushed back a draw for the upcoming football league calendar until Friday following the arrest of its president.
The draw to decide fixture for the first and second divisions, originally scheduled for Thursday, 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 news radio Cadena Ser.
The 2017/18 first division season will begin the weekend of August 19-20 and end on May 20, 2018.
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