Barcelona Referee Scandal: Barcelona’s problems recently have been refusing to die. The club is currently under investigation after they were alleged of sporting corruption. The accusations are that the former club presidents paid around €7m to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee. La Liga President, Javier Tebas, who is famous for taking shots at the Catalan club, has once again taken the club on his radar. He exclaimed that Barcelona should be worried about the corruption charges. Follow La Liga and Ligue1 LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN
“We need explanations. If they are calm and keep the explanations to themselves, I think they should be worried. The news that is coming out, and more will continue to come out because it is inevitable. I think there should not be silence,” Tebas said.
Previously, Tebas said that even if Barcelona were found guilty, it will be tough to punish them in La Liga as the payments were made 3 years ago, which is beyond the league’s threshold.
Official: UEFA opens an investigation into the ‘Negreira case’ for Barcelona 🔴 #FCB
“In accordance with Article 31.4. UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors will carry out an investigation into a possible violation of UEFA's legal framework”. pic.twitter.com/3JxChKvJ0c
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 23, 2023
Apart from Spanish prosecutors, UEFA has also confirmed that they have opened an investigation into the case. If found guilty, Barcelona may face a ban from the next year’s Champions League.
What’s Barcelona Referee Scandal?
Barcelona reportedly paid €7m to companies of ex-vice chairman of the Spanish Committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, between 2002 to 2018. In a tax inspection by Spanish tax authorities into the company DASNIL 95, owned by Negreira, it was found that three payments of between €300,000 (£265,629) and €550,000 (£486,986) made by Barcelona to DASNIL 95. In return, Negreira’s company did nothing.
Negreira and several Barca officials have claimed that the money paid was for having neutral referees and avoiding biased decisions in the game. To the accusations, current club President, Joan Laporta said, “Let it be clear Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees, absolutely never.”
The case has been accepted into the Spanish courts and former managers of the club, including the Presidents, are expected to be called to testify.
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