Barcelona Investigated Over Suspected Bribery Payments to Ex-Referees Chief
Barcelona have been charged with suspected bribery for payments worth over €7 million (£6m) made to companies linked with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the refereeing committee in Spain.
Spanish police raided the offices of Spain’s football federation (RFEF) near Madrid on Thursday as part of the investigation into the payments made by Barcelona to firms owned by Negreira, who was vice-president of the RFEF’s refereeing committee from 1993 to 2018. Negreira was also a referee in Spain’s professional leagues before joining the RFEF.
Barcelona Deny Wrongdoing
Barcelona deny wrongdoing and the club claim that the payments were for an external consultant to supply ‘technical reports related to professional refereeing’ and described it as ‘a common practice among professional football clubs’.
Police said on Thursday that no arrests had been made and that they were acting on the orders of judge Joaquin Aguirre, who is investigating the case for a Barcelona court. The payments were initially investigated as part of a tax probe into a company run by Negreira.
Accusations Made Against Barcelona Executives
The accusations made by judge Aguirre are against Barcelona, Negreira, former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, and former Barcelona executives Oscar Grau and Albert Soler.
When asked about the investigation on Thursday, La Liga president Javier Tebas said: ‘There are indications of totally irregular payments that should not have been made to the vice president of the referees. It will have to be clarified if that was the intention.’
Tebas also confirmed that La Liga would be unable to relegate Barcelona if the club were found guilty.
‘We do not have powers because these events at the administrative level are prescribed. If we had been able to intervene, a disciplinary file would have been opened and would go to the social judge,’ Tebas said.
‘Here there are some indications of payments that should not have been made and with this an attempt was made to influence the arbitration decisions. And the judge’s decision would range from a warning to a demotion. But we have not been able to do it, because it is prescribed in that area. That is why it is in the criminal area.’
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