Source: REUTERS/Albert Gea
[Saba Sports News] According to Spanish media reports, the Spanish National Court ruled that Sandro Rosell i Feliu, former president of Barcelona, was acquitted due to pre-trial detention for 645 days and awarded 232,500 euros in state compensation. Previously, Rosell was charged with involvement in organized crime and money laundering (related to Brazilian national team event commissions and a sports brand contract), but was ultimately found not guilty. Rosell claimed compensation from the Spanish government for a total of 29.7 million euros due to alleged mental distress and economic losses caused by pre-trial detention, including income loss during the suspension of commercial activities, legal defense costs, and travel expenses for family visits. Regarding Rosell’s claim for expected interest losses from the termination of the AZF contract amounting to 27.76295 million euros, the court dismissed all claims on the grounds that the contract was held by Rosell’s wholly owned Hong Kong company One of Ours rather than personally, hence the claim rights belong to the company. The court eventually ruled that Rosell be compensated 50,000 euros for mental distress, 120,000 euros for expected interest losses from the termination of the EY contract, and 62,500 euros for family visit travel expenses, totaling 232,500 euros.