Eyebrows have been raised abroad following Spanish media reports that Qatar is extending a coaching job offer to Iñaki Urdangarín, a son-in-law of King Juan Carlos of Spain.

According to the reports, Urdangarín, a 45-year-old former Olympic handball player who is under investigation for corruption, has been invited to help train the Qatar national team alongside Spain’s national handball coach Valerio Rivero.

TV3, the public broadcaster in Catalonia where Urdangarín lives with his wife Princess Cristina and four children, adds that the former athlete has also been asked to promote handball and supervise the organization of the 2015 World Handball Championship in Qatar.

Middle East Online reports:

Urdangarín and his former business partner Diego Torres are at the heart of a corruption investigation, opened at the end of 2011, centered on allegations of influence peddling and embezzlement.

The pair are suspected of overbilling regional governments to stage sports and tourism events, and then syphoning off money to the non-profit Noos Institute, which Urdangarín chaired from 2004 to 2006.

It is unclear what happens to the embezzlement case if Urdangarín and his family move to Qatar. Just last week, Princess Cristina was officially named as a suspect in the case and ordered to be questioned in court, MEO states.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Antonio Zugaldia