Barcelona football club faces severe legal challenges as the Investigative Court No. 1 of Barcelona has charged them with “active bribery” in relation to the ongoing Negreira case.
The accusations stem from the club’s alleged payments to former referee chief, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, for confidential information that could potentially benefit Barcelona. This assistance reportedly included detailed analyses on referees and their behavioral tendencies, provided in written reports and DVDs.
Previously, Negreira himself confirmed receiving payments for offering “technical advice to ensure that no controversial refereeing decisions went against Barcelona”. He indicated that these payments were authorized by former club presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.
Despite these allegations, Barcelona has consistently denied involvement in any match-fixing or bribery activities. Current president, Joan Laporta, described the Negreira case as a smear campaign against the club. He added, “Barca has never bought a referee. However, maybe we didn’t properly appreciate what it meant to get advice from a former referee’s son.”
The situation further escalated when Spanish law enforcement officials raided the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) on Thursday. While no arrests ensued, the operation was carried out under directives from Judge Joaquin Aguirre, who is leading the Negreira investigation.
The aftermath of these raids saw Barcelona officially charged with “active bribery”. A local court document shed more light on the allegations, revealing the club had allegedly been paying Negreira for referee information for almost two decades.
According to the court document, these payments escalated from an initial €70,000 to a whopping €700,000 annually. The payments were only halted when Negreira resigned as vice-president of the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees). The court believes these ongoing payments led to Barcelona achieving favorable refereeing outcomes, suggesting systemic corruption in Spanish refereeing.
Furthermore, after his dismissal in 2018, Negreira reportedly threatened Barcelona with exposure of compromising information if they ceased the payments. This threat suggests Negreira was well-aware of potential illegalities favoring the club.
When asked about the case, Barcelona’s club manager, Xavi Hernandez, chose to focus on the team’s performance instead of the controversy. He said, “I need to concentrate on what happens with the team, our strategy, and our recent matches.”
This scandal adds to the myriad of challenges the famed football club faces both on and off the pitch.
