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Ex-Barcelona president Rosell to stand trial for money laundering

Former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell will stand trial for alleged money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team, a court said Friday.

Ex-Barcelona president Rosell to stand trial for money laundering
Sandro Rosell announcing his resignation Barcelona's football club president in 2014. Photo: Josep LAGO / AFP
Spain's National Court, which deals with major corruption cases, added that Rosell's wife, an Andorran lawyer and three other people would also stand trial.
 
The 54-year-old is suspected of having siphoned off €15 million ($17.5 million) in illegal commissions from a TV rights deal for the Brazilian national team along with Ricardo Teixeira, the former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation.
 
Rosell had previously lived and worked in Brazil, where he forged many business links.
 
The contract was signed in 2006 to hand over the rights to 24 Brazil friendly matches to a company based in the Cayman Islands but tied to a Saudi group.
 
Altogether, Rosell and his wife received some €15 million in their accounts, of which €6.6 million went to them and the rest was destined for Teixeira. 
 
Teixeira, a former FIFA vice-president, has been indicted by US Justice Department prosecutors investigating the Fifa corruption scandal.
 
Rosell is also suspected of having received some five million euros illicitly as part of Nike's sponsorship deal with the Brazilian team.
 
Rosell, his wife and the four others are accused of mounting a “criminal organisation”.
 
He resigned as Barcelona president in 2014 over the murky transfer dealings that brought Brazilian striker Neymar to the club from Santos.
 
He was later cleared of all charges in connection with an alleged tax fraud case over the transfer following an agreement with prosecutors.
 
Rosell is nevertheless being probed for fraud and corruption relating to a parallel complaint filed by Brazilian investment company DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar's sporting rights at the time of his transfer.
 
DIS claims it was cheated out of its real share because part of the transfer fee was concealed by Barcelona, Santos and the Neymar family.
 
Rosell can still appeal the judge's decision to send him to trial.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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