Three arrested for defrauding young foreign footballers

Three individuals were arrested by the National Police for violating the rights of foreign citizens and labourers. The detainees defrauded young foreign soccer players by making false assurances about their ability to establish themselves in Spanish football.

The National Police initiated the investigation in June 2025 after receiving information regarding the purported circumstances of several young Argentinian men who had been recruited in their homeland with the fraudulent assurance of formally establishing themselves in Spain as football players. Officers from the Provincial Immigration and Border Brigade of the National Police Headquarters in Asturias located and obtained statements from a total of six victims from that point forward.

All of the testimonies concurred that a prominent Argentine football agent was responsible for recruiting young individuals in the country to promise them a sports project in Asturias. This encompassed accommodations, meals, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, and a partnership with a football club to establish themselves in Spain through a student visa and employment search.

The agent met with the player’s family to persuade them of the project and to request a €1,000 advance, as there were only a few spots available, after the youths were recruited. The program’s total cost ranged from €3,000 to €4,000, contingent upon the specific circumstance. Upon their arrival in Asturias, the remaining sum would be remitted to the agent’s son, another of the actors involved.

Their travel expenses from Argentina were in addition to the payment for the assignment. The affected parties were instructed to simulate a tourist excursion in order to prevent issues at border control, with the emphasis on the importance of refraining from mentioning the sports project.

Upon their arrival in Asturias, the footballers were transported to a hostel or flat owned by the president of a modest but well-known Asturian football club. The conditions of the accommodations did not align with the terms of the offer, and they were required to pay for their accommodations. Other members of the network assisted in their transportation.

The reality they discovered was that, despite the substantial quantities of money they had paid, they were only provided with maintenance and a coach who organised training sessions at the Asturian club’s facilities with the limited number of players they had. They were compelled to complete the day with other amateur players from the region.

Few of the victims participated in trials to sign with any club or played any preparation matches. Additionally, they were not granted student visas that would have permitted them to work and reside, which resulted in some of them being without any form of financial support. The investigation resulted in the arrest of two Argentine nationals (the son of the football agent and the coach) and another Spanish national (a director of an Asturian football club) for their involvement in the fraudulent sports project. The evidence obtained after the investigation corroborated the victims’ statements. Currently, the project’s mastermind is in Argentina, anticipating localisation. Reports of the events have been submitted to the Court of First Instance and Investigation of Pola de Lena and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Principality of Asturias. Efforts are currently underway to ascertain the facts and identify additional victims. Similarly, the Argentine Federal Police has been informed through international police cooperation mechanisms, and the Coordinating Prosecutor of the Attorney General’s Office has served as the focal point of contact for its transfer to REDTRAM (Ibero-American Network of Prosecutors Specialised in Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants). An investigation has been initiated by the Argentine Prosecutor’s Office.

Author: Derek Appleton