Tennis Match Fixing
Police have arrested 15 people in an investigation into tennis match-fixing by an Armenian criminal gang.
The Guardia Civil said 83 people were implicated, among them 28 players from the ITF Futures and Challenger tours.
One of those arrested is Spanish tennis player Marc Fornell-Mestres, who’s 36.
He was ranked 1007th in singles at the end of 2018 and was suspended by the Tennis Integrity Unit last month as part of an anti-corruption probe.
The Guardia Civil also said one of the players implicated in the investigation competed at last year’s US Open.
Europol said 11 house searches had been carried out in Spain in which 167,000 euros in cash were seized, along with a shotgun.
The investigation started in 2017 after the Tennis Integrity Unit grew concerned about “irregular activities” relating to pre-arranged matches in the tournaments.
Andalusia Government
The Socialist Party in Andalusia declined yesterday to present a candidate for investiture as regional president after center-right parties arrived at an agreement with the far-right newcomer Vox to back one of their leaders for the post.
Susana Diaz, whose Socialist PSOE obtained the most votes but not an absolute majority in regional elections on Dec. 3, has acknowledged that she will have to lead the opposition following an agreement reached late on Wednesday by the Popular Party and Ciudadanos with ultra-right Vox to back the PP’s Juanma Moreno as the new president of Andalusia.
Plane Crash
The pilot killed in a plane crash in Spain has been named as Simon Moores, the brother-in-law of celebrity chef Paul Hollywood.
Mr Moores who was 62, died when his aircraft came down near Errezil in the north of the country on Wednesday.
Rescuers recovered one body on Wednesday night .. yesterday morning a second body was found when the search resumed.
An audio recording of the crash emerged of Mr Moores changing the plane’s route before the aircraft crashed into a mountain.
Catalonia Trials
Spain’s Supreme Court yesterday asked for nine Catalan separatist leaders jailed .. for their role in the 2017 independence bid .. to be transferred to Madrid so they can be tried in “the last week” of January.
The date of the much-anticipated trial, which is likely to revive tensions between Catalonia and Spain’s central government, has not yet been set.
But according to one lawyers’ firm defending the separatists, it could start on January 29 or February 4.
In a letter addressed to the Interior Minister the Supreme Court asked for their transfer from Catalonia to guarantee they are “at the disposal” of the court “the last week of the month of January.”
A total of 12 Catalan leaders — nine of whom are in pre-trial detention — will be in the dock.
Prosecutors have asked for between seven and 25 years jail for rebellion and/or misuse of public funds.
Another six who are accused of disobedience will be tried in Catalonia.