Report: Former Malaga owner sent to trial in Spain for alleged offences

A Spanish court has sent Qatari royal Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani and three of his sons to trial for alleged offences committed during his management of former La Liga club Malaga, legal sources said on Wednesday.

Ex-club president Al-Thani, a distant relative of Qatar's ruling family, and his children are accused of misappropriation, unfair administration and imposing abusive agreements, according to a Malaga court document dated Monday.

They theoretically face prison terms if convicted for their running of the current second-division side from Andalusia that ended in relegation and financial implosion.

Al-Thani bought Malaga in 2010 and launched the modest club into a spending spree that acquired stars including Santi Cazorla and former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The success was short-lived. After reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2013, Malaga went on to lose their stars and were relegated from La Liga in 2018 and fell to the third tier in 2023.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw their finances sink into crisis, with the club placed under supervision by the Spanish tax authorities and presenting a collective redundancy plan.

A court removed Al-Thani from his post as president in 2020 following a complaint submitted by a group of small club shareholders.