The judge of the Negreira case has charged FC Barcelona with ‘possible corruption’ & ‘possible bribery’ after strong evidence provided to ‘alter the refereeing decisions’.
Football Club Barcelona, along with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, ex-president Sandro Rosell, Jose María Enríquez Negreira, and his son, have been charged with bribery in the ‘Negreira Case.’
The ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona are regarding allegations of the club making payments totaling €1.4 million to the company of José Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former referee who served as the vice-president of the referees’ technical committee from 2016 to 2018.
FC Barcelona has confirmed its engagement of a consultant for « reports related to refereeing » but has defended the practice, describing it as routine. According to Josep Maria Bartomeu, the former club president who resigned in 2021, this practice has been in existence since at least 2003.
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Spanish tax inspectors have interviewed the former referee, who « did not provide any documents proving that he provided services to FC Barcelona. » Negreira maintains that the advice was provided verbally. He also denies having influenced Barcelona’s decisions or referee appointments, asserting that he merely offered recommendations on how players should conduct themselves in front of each referee. He emphasized that everything was neutral but also confirmed that he had worked exclusively for Barcelona.
