Spanish man missing on trek to World Cup believed to be under arrest in Iran

Iran is being engulfed by mass unrest, triggering fears about Mr Sanchez’s fate after he stopped contacting his family in Spain on October 2, a day after he crossed the Iraq-Iran border.

A Spanish man trekking from Madrid to Qatar for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha is believed to be under arrest in Iran where he went missing more than three weeks ago, his family have said (Sanchez Cogedor family handout/AP)

A Spanish man trekking from Madrid to Qatar for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Doha is believed to be under arrest in Iran where he went missing more than three weeks ago, his family have said.

Santiago Sanchez’s mother, Celia Cogedor, told the Associated Press on Wednesday: “We learned this morning from the (Spanish) foreign ministry that there’s a 99% chance he is arrested.