Spain’s prosecutor begins looking into Barcelons’s alleged £1.2m bribe to Vice-President of Spanish referees’ committee
The lawsuit can seriously cripple the economics of the Catalan gaints as this is being handled by independent prosucutors
Follow Us
Spanish prosecutors have decided to go ahead with a lawsuit against Barcelona on the £1.4 million payment that the club made to a referee agency. The lawsuit will tie former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, the club and José María Enríquez Negreira together, as Spanish outlet El Pais reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the prosecutors are looking to make Bartomeu and Barcelona as defendants in the lawsuit. The court will now have to decide if there is actually enough proof to incriminate any of the defendants.
The club has previously claimed that the payment was made by the club to the former Referee association’s vice president for training and grooming players before matches. However, no other club has agreed to the claims, making the prosecutors smell blood. However, in its present form, the case will be handed over to a judge. The judge will see if any game has been influenced by the referees who were associated with Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
The Situation that led to the investigation
Earlier in February a local prosecutor’s office looking into the finances of DASNIL 95 SL found an anomaly. A total of €1.392 million that was paid between 2016 and 2018 caught the attention of the investigators.
Negreira, who is the owner of the company, was coincidentally the vice president of RFEF. This information piqued the interest of the prosecutors who could connect the dots.
At the moment, Barcelona and its former president Bartomeu, said, ”in the past, FC Barcelona hired the services of an external consultant that supplied the club’s technical secretaries with reports in video format of youth players from other clubs in Spain.”
However, the explanation was apparently not enough for the prosecutors. Therefore, even after a temporary relenting of the investigation, a case has been filed.
In case you missed it: “Oilsea corruption; VAR needs to be removed”- Fans slam Chelsea after entering UCL quarters due to controversial penalty decision
LaLiga’s stance on the subject
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has already said that the league will not participate in such an investigation as the allegation is a time-bound one. However, Tebas did not stop blasting the Catalan giants.
However, in another interview, Tebas later said, “If he doesn’t explain well why he was paid, I think he should (resign). He has not given a reasonable explanation for these payments. In the note that Barcelona issued, it seemed that all football clubs did this.”
Barcelona’s current Stance
Barcelona’s current president, Joan Laporta, today stood firm on his claims that Barcelona has not bought referees. He said, “We will hold a press conference to talk about the issue. Barça has not dedicated itself to buying referees. Barça will not be harmed. I don’t know the vice president of the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees).”
He also claimed that Barcelona will not be harmed in any situation. “Let it be clear that Barça has never bought referees, nor that it has had the intention of buying referees. Absolutely never,” he added.
Related News:
How did Erik Ten Hag punish Manchester United players after Liverpool humiliated them 7-0?
Stay Updated!
Arpan Ghosh
(1403 Articles Published)