Javier Tebas has lost his long-running battle with former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales.
According to the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", the First Criminal Law Chamber of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has acquitted Rubiales in the complaint the La Liga president filed back in 2019. Tebas had accused him of recording a meeting of UEFA members without their consent.
The Swiss ruling throws out the appeal Tebas lodged against the Criminal Court of Appeal's decision of 17 February, which cleared Rubiales of any wrongdoing over the recording of those conversations.
Handed down on 29 July, the ruling also upholds the order for Tebas to cover the costs of the legal proceedings.
Rubiales welcomed the verdict warmly. He told Spanish news agency EFE that he was "very happy, because it has now become final" and that "justice has been served after seven years", adding that it makes clear Tebas "consistently sought to tarnish his image with lies, with the help of some media outlets whose interests are entirely different from truth and accuracy".
He also insisted on "his lawful manner of conduct and his innocence in the face of the false accusations that he and his team suffered", and stressed that he would continue "to fight for justice to be achieved".