Barcelona charged with corruption over payments to former referees' official

1 year ago 43

Barcelona person been charged with corruption implicit payments the nine made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a erstwhile vice-president of Spain's referees' committee.

Last period it emerged that Barca person paid Negreira and a institution helium owns a reported full of 8.4m euros (£7.4m) betwixt 2001 and 2018.

A Barcelona tribunal heard connected Friday that Barca, erstwhile nine officials and Negreira had been indicted for "corruption", "breach of trust" and "false concern records".

These lawsuits, brought by the Barcelona nationalist prosecutor's office, people the club, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.

La Liga main enforcement Javier Tebas said past period that current president Joan Laporta should resign if helium was incapable to explicate the payments.

Laporta responded by saying helium volition not springiness Tebas "what he'd similar by stepping down" and the charges travel 3 days aft Laporta insisted his nine had "never bought referees".

"Let it beryllium wide Barca person ne'er bought referees and Barca person ne'er had the volition of buying referees, perfectly never," helium said connected Tuesday.

How did we get here?

The payments, revealed past period by vigor presumption Ser Catalunya, came to airy pursuing an probe by taxation authorities into Negreira's institution Dasnil 95.

Barcelona made payments to the institution totalling a reported 1.4m euros (£1.2m) betwixt 2016 and 2018, and paid Negreira, 77, astir 7m euros (£6.2m) betwixt 2001 and 2018, the twelvemonth helium near his relation with the referees' committee.

Barca acknowledged the nine had paid Dasnil 95, which it described arsenic "an outer method consultant" to compile video reports related to nonrecreational referees "with the purpose of complementing the accusation required by the coaching staff".

It added that contracting the reports was "a habitual signifier among nonrecreational clubs".

The matter escalated erstwhile 18 of the 20 La Liga clubs issued a connection to explicit "deep concern" implicit the situation, and Laporta said the nine would motorboat an interior probe into the payments.

Barcelona manager Xavi, who won 8 La Liga titles with them arsenic a subordinate betwixt 1998 and 2015, said helium had nary cognition of the payments and ne'er had the feeling his squad had immoderate advantage.

"I ever wanted to win, but fairly. If I thought we were cheating I'd person gone home," helium said aft Barca's 2-2 gully with Manchester United successful the Europa League past month.

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