Alexia Putellas took a left-footed shot and after she saw the ball go in, she took off her shirt in an act that came from her soul.

She ran towards the right corner, straight towards her fans. She started screaming, venting all her rage. It was an uncharacteristic act for Putellas, who tends to play with a captain’s composure.

But she needed it. She went to the stands and bowed, evoking memories of the first Clasico that Barcelona women played at Camp Nou in front of 90,000 fans. Lucy Bronze picked up the shirt that Putellas had thrown away and showed it to the crowd.

Aitana Bonmati was the first to embrace Putellas. She had scored Barcelona’s opener in the 63rd minute, advancing past Lyon defender Vanessa Gilles after a great assist from Mariona Caldentey.

It felt fitting; the last two winners of the Ballon d’Or, Putellas and Bonmati, making the difference in the most important match in Barcelona’s history. The relationship between the two has experienced some low moments, so the fact that Bonmati was the first to hug Putellas was significant.

“Alexia and Aitana are FC Barcelona’s heritage,” Xavi Puig, the Barcelona board member in charge of the women’s team,…

Spain’s former men’s national team director Albert Luque and their former marketing director Ruben Rivera have been sacked as part of the fallout from former president Luis Rubiales’ kiss on Jennifer Hermoso.

The ex-Newcastle United striker Luque and Rivera were both suspended from their positions in March until the legal case over the kiss was “clarified” and Spanish FA (RFEF) president Pedro Rocha has now sacked them.

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for Rubiales, consisting of one year for the charge of alleged sexual assault and one and a half years for alleged coercion.

The second charge also applied to Luque, Rivera and Jorge Vilda, the World Cup-winning former head coach of the women’s team.

Rubiales has always maintained the kiss on Hermoso was consensual; Hermoso has testified the kiss was not consensual. Spanish media have previously reported that Vilda, Rivera and Luque have denied the charge of coercion in court testimonies.

Two more figures at the RFEF have been sacked after the separate investigation into corruption during Rubiales’ five years in charge from 2018-2023.

They are the RFEF’s former legal director Pedro Gonzalez Seguro and its former human resources director Jose Javier Jimenez, known as…

Alexia Putellas and Barcelona are close to an agreement over a new two-year contract with the option of a further year.

The contract is yet to be signed, but there is a good understanding between both parties over an official agreement being reached, as first reported by Spanish news outlet SPORT.

Negotiations had been on standby as Putellas focused on returning to full fitness following injury but discussions have now resumed and are ongoing.

Despite enticing offers from the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the 30-year-old’s intention was always to extend her stay at Barcelona, but she wanted to be sure of the direction of the club’s project and how much of a part she would be playing.

She has had the past 18 months disrupted by an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and then keyhole surgery to her knee, but since returning to playing regularly she has been convinced by the club’s contract proposal.

The two-time Ballon d’Or winner’s existing deal is set to expire in June and The Athletic reported in February negotiations had hit a stumbling block following a dispute over an international call-up.

In December, Barcelona tabled a contract offer to make Putellas the highest paid player in the squad and double her salary, but the club were then angered by her…

Luis Rubiales will stand trial for alleged sexual assault and coercion over his kiss on Jenni Hermoso after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final.

Former Spain head coach Jorge Vilda, now in charge of the Morocco women’s national team, will also stand trial over alleged coercion, along with former sporting director of the men’s national team and ex Newcastle United striker Albert Luque and the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) former head of marketing Ruben Rivera.

The Athletic reported in January the judge investigating Rubiales’ potential charges had recommended the case go to trial, and National Court (Audencia Nacional) judge Francisco de Jorge has now ordered the opening of the trial.

The court has set a bail of €65,000 for Rubiales, 46, to cover “civil liberties” for the sexual assault charge, to be paid within 24 hours.

An additional bail of €65,000 has been set for the charge of coercion to be paid jointly between Vilda, Luque and Rivera.

A statement from the National Court read: “The National Court judge Francisco de Jorge has ordered the opening of the oral trial of the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, for the non-consensual kiss of the Spanish national team player Jennifer Hermoso after the World Cup final in Sydney…

Former Spain and Real Madrid head coach Vicente del Bosque has been appointed as the head of a new government-created committee to supervise the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Government spokesperson Pilar Alegria confirmed on Monday that Del Bosque, 73, will lead the Superior Sports Council’s (CSD) new commission of “supervision, normalisation and representation” as part of a bid to reform Spanish football.

The new body has been created in response to the ongoing fallout from scandals following former president Luis Rubiales’ departure, after he was forced to resign over the fallout from his conduct at the Women’s World Cup final. Rubiales faces sexual assault and coercion charges, which he denies, after kissing Jennifer Hermoso following Spain’s 1-0 win over England.

Del Bosque’s committee will work with the RFEF to “initiate a stage of regeneration under a climate of institutional stability” until the governing body holds new elections in autumn. Spain will co-host the 2030 World Cup along with Portugal and Morocco.

Last week, Pedro Rocha was formally announced as the RFEF’s new president, despite being one of several individuals questioned as part of a judicial investigation into alleged corruption during Rubiales’ reign.

Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati says the Women’s Super League is an “attractive” competition for Spanish players after criticising the lack of legacy in the domestic game following Spain’s Women’s World Cup.

The 26-year-old Barcelona midfielder highlighted how the WSL empowers its players and singled out Arsenal and Manchester City’s style of play as desirable factors to Spain internationals.

A number of Spanish players have moved to the WSL in recent seasons, with Laia Aleixandri and Leila Ouahabi joining Manchester City, Lucia Garcia and Irene Guerrero signing for Manchester United and Laia Codina moving to Arsenal. Former Barcelona captain Vicky Losada signed for her third WSL club last summer when she joined Brighton following spells at Manchester City and Arsenal.

“You in England are doing things so well,” Bonmati told BBC Sport. “You treat women’s football good. You give power to the players and to the league. Here in Spain, I cannot say the same.

“The league in England is competitive and every year they are putting more money into it to develop it. They are making the league more attractive.”

Bonmati is a product of the Barcelona academy and has spent her entire professional career with the Catalan side. Her Barcelona contract runs until…

The case examining allegations of corruption during Luis Rubiales’ time as Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president took a further twist on Friday as the man who replaced him was also put under investigation.

Pedro Rocha, who took over after Rubiales decided to resign in September, having already been suspended by FIFA over his behaviour at the Women’s World Cup final the month before, had been called as a witness in the case.

But after his appearance at a Madrid court on Friday he, like Rubiales, has now been placed under investigation.

On March 20, Spanish police carried out a series of raids as part of an anti-corruption investigation codenamed ‘Operacion Brodie’ — after Englishman John Alexander Brodie, an Everton fan who pioneered the use of football nets in the late 19th century and worked for a while in Bilbao in the north of Spain.

Guardia Civil officers — one of Spain’s two national police forces — raided the RFEF headquarters at Las Rozas near Madrid, as well as other locations across the country. Seven arrests were made — five in Madrid and two in the southern city of Granada, where a property owned by Rubiales was also searched.

At the time, Rubiales was in the Dominican Republic, where he said he was on business. On his return to Spain on April…

Former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales was detained and questioned immediately after landing in Madrid on Wednesday morning, as part of an anti-corruption investigation.

Rubiales, who resigned as RFEF president in September, having been suspended by FIFA over his kiss on Spain forward Jenni Hermoso after the Women’s World Cup final in August, was travelling back from the Dominican Republic.

That is where he was on March 20, when RFEF headquarters in Madrid and Rubiales’ home in Granada were searched as part of an investigation into alleged corruption during his five years in charge from 2018.

Officers from Spain’s Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) were waiting for Rubiales to land at Madrid-Barajas airport. Footage broadcast by Spanish TV station La Sexta showed him being led away from a plane on the tarmac and into a black minivan.

According to Guardia Civil sources, Rubiales was informed he was being indicted and his lawyer was called so they could be present during questioning. Rubiales invoked his right not to testify and was released. However, he is expected to be called to testify when a warrant for his arrest is issued by an investigating judge, the same sources said.

Guardia Civil officers seized a mobile phone and a tablet from Rubiales on…

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales.

The prosecutors are seeking a one-year sentence for a charge of alleged sexual assault, with a further one and a half years for alleged coercion.

The second charge also applies to former Spain Women head coach Jorge Vilda, former RFEF marketing manager Ruben Rivera and former RFEF men’s national team director Albert Luque — the ex-Newcastle United striker.

Following the request for imprisonment by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, RFEF have suspended Rivera and Luque as a precautionary measure until the judicial matter is clarified. 

Spanish prosecutors filed the lawsuit against Rubiales for alleged sexual assault and coercion of Spain Women player Jenni Hermoso in September, with the judge investigating recommending the case go to trial in January.

Rubiales grabbed Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips after Spain’s World Cup final win over England on August 20 in Sydney, Australia, as she received her winner’s medal.

Rubiales kisses Hermoso following the 2023 World Cup final (Noemi Llamas/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty…

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Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters and the home of its former president Luis Rubiales have been searched as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the deal to play Supercopa de Espana games in Saudi Arabia. Sources familiar with the case said it was planned that seven arrests would be made, with five further […]

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Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters and the home of its former president Luis Rubiales have been searched as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the deal to play Supercopa de Espana games in Saudi Arabia.

Sources familiar with the case said it was planned that seven arrests would be made, with five further individuals to be placed under investigation in operations carried out across Spain.

The search on the RFEF offices was carried out by officers from the Guardia Civil — one of Spain’s two national police forces — in coordination with anti-corruption prosecutors and with the support of Europol.

Sources said 11 properties are to be searched — including the RFEF’s Madrid offices and Rubiales’ property in Granada.

A photo of the RFEF headquarters from August 2023 (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Spanish media reports have said Rubiales, who resigned as RFEF president in September following the fallout over his kiss on Jenni Hermoso after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, is currently in the Dominican Republic.

A warrant for Rubiales’ arrest has not been issued but the expectation is the 46-year-old will report for questioning or faces being arrested, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Rubiales initially refused to…

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