CD Tenerife "T-shirt Case" Sent to Trial, Three Face Charges

A major step has been taken in the "T-shirt case," an investigation into the alleged theft and secret sale of sports gear from Club Deportivo Tenerife. Judge María de los Ángeles Lorenzo-Cáceres Farizo, who leads Instruction Court number four in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has decided to move the case forward to a shorter trial procedure, according to EL DÍA. This means the judge believes there's enough evidence to prosecute three people for crimes like misuse of funds (disloyal administration), theft, and handling stolen goods.

The court order, which wraps up the investigation that began in February 2025 after a report from the Civil Guard, describes an alleged ongoing operation. It states that a CD Tenerife employee, who was in charge of the first team's sports equipment, had allegedly been taking official clothing from the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium's storage for some time. This included kits from the current supplier, Hummel, and older brands like Puma and Luanvi. These items were meant for both the team and for sale in the club's official shop.

The employee, who had direct access to the warehouses and handled orders, is accused of moving these clothes to a location in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. This place was run by the president of a CD Tenerife fan club, who is the second person under investigation. During a search of these premises on February 26, 2025, ordered by the judge, authorities found 2,998 CD Tenerife items worth 120,829.76 euros. They also found 335 Puma items and 157 Luanvi items, whose value couldn't be determined. Among the seized items were first-team kits already printed with sponsors and player names. The club says these specific garments are not meant for public sale. Investigators also found cardboard boxes addressed to "Club Deportivo Tenerife" with the note "attention of the stadium coordinator" and the phone number of the employee under investigation.

The sales operation was discreet, relying on "word of mouth," and most payments were made in cash. However, the investigation uncovered 319 Bizum transactions between October 2021 and February 2025, totaling 21,222.80 euros, with descriptions like "tfe clothes" or "tete shirt." A financial report also showed that the person running the premises deposited 54,085 euros in cash into his bank account between 2018 and 2024. Phone calls between the first two suspects were intercepted, with phrases such as "I already have 3 boxes ready" or "We can take it out through gate zero." These conversations, along with photos of clothes and discussions about prices and preferring cash ("he was not self-employed and didn't want to have problems"), further support the evidence.

The investigation also implicates a third person, who is accused of buying large quantities of clothes to resell. On this person's phone, investigators found order lists and 42 PDF files titled "merchandise and payment on account." These documents detailed 1,166 garments worth 16,739 euros, with 13,980 euros paid and a remaining balance of 2,759 euros. Messages like "I want to pay you part of what I've sold and take some things" suggest a potential sharing of profits, the judge noted.

During the investigation, the club's former Marketing Director and current General Secretary gave their testimonies. Both confirmed that the employee under investigation had access to the keys for the warehouses and other stadium areas. The former Marketing Director also stated that the official store had three keys, and the employee had the alarm and door keys. This led the judge to suspect that the thefts might have also involved the store, even though the employee denied having those keys. This witness also mentioned that even though 1.2 million euros had been approved for clothing, there wasn't enough stock for the first team and youth academy. Only the official store had a digital inventory system. The General Secretary, meanwhile, said the employee "tried to keep the keys to the facilities in few hands" and that he provided "a torn sheet from a notebook" listing extra clothes for sale in the store.

Additionally, it was confirmed that CD Tenerife had bought a screen-printing machine that wasn't being used. Meanwhile, an outside company billed the club 329,680.60 euros for screen-printing services between the 2019/2020 and 2024/2025 seasons. An economic report in the order also showed that the stadium coordinator had 154,028.80 euros in an account as of March 2025. The report noted a lack of typical spending patterns, suggesting he might have been using cash for daily expenses.

The Public Prosecutor's Office and the plaintiffs now have ten days to submit their formal charges or ask for the case to be dismissed. This marks the next step in this legal process, which has focused on how the club's sports equipment was managed internally.