The Government delegate in Malaga, María Gámez, has confirmed that the National Police are investigating the release of an explicit video featuring the Málaga CF coach, Víctor Sánchez del Amo, as a result of which the former Elche and Spain International midfielder has been suspended by the Second Division club.

However the 43-year-old said on his Twitter feed that he had been the victim of harassment and blackmail, that the release of the video was done without his content, and that sharing or disseminating such content was a crime against his privacy.

The club said in a statement: “In relation to the events that have recently been discovered, and which have not as yet been verified, Malaga CF immediately suspends coach Victor Sanchez del Amo from his duties until a full investigation is carried out.”

“We will disclose further information once the facts have been clarified.”

A report published in the Spanish press says that on Tuesday, a video of the Malaga manager was circulated through social networks in which he masturbated in front of the camera. The film was subsequently published which he has denounced as a crime against his privacy “with harassment and extortion”.

Meanwhile, Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales has come out in support of Del Amo. He said: “A great professional like Victor Sanchez del Amo has all of my support. Intimacy is an inviolable right. To use illicit means to break it is immoral and criminal. That a third party takes advantage of it has no name. Moreover, to broadcast it is a crime.”

Malaga are currently 16th in the second division table after 22 matches, a point above the relegation zone. The club also has major financial issues which could see them go out of business.