Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims club are INNOCENT after being accused of buying referees
‘They have nothing because there is nothing’: Barcelona president Joan Laporta reaffirms club INNOCENT after being accused of sending £6.5 million to former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing commission during a period of 20 years
- The club is currently under investigation by both UEFA and the Spanish authorities
- An alleged relationship with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira has caused problems
- Laporta has argued that Negreira was unable to influence matches
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has maintained his club is innocent of the referee pay scandal.
Spain’s prosecutor has accused the club of maintaining a relationship with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, leading him to carry out actions that “would result in Barcelona being favored in the decision-making of the referees” in exchange for money.
The prosecution says the club paid €7.3 million (£6.46 million) to DASNIL and NILSAT, two companies owned by Negreira.
The club is under investigation by both UEFA and Spanish authorities over the allegations. Barcelona, meanwhile, insist they received referee scout reports in return.
Laporta has insisted the club is innocent and led the fight against the allegations to clear his club’s name.
Barcelona has again denied corruption allegations during investigations by authorities
Spain’s public prosecutor has accused the club of maintaining a relationship with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
“They have nothing because there is nothing,” he said. “What they have done is magnified a situation where one of the people linked to these companies was a former referee and former vice president of the Referees’ Technical Committee.
“He didn’t have the capacity to change the results of a game because he didn’t appoint the referees.”
The club faces huge financial fines, and Negreira, former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu, and former directors Oscar Grau and Albert Soler face up to four years in prison.
Courts will now decide whether there is enough evidence to prove that Negreira used money paid to him by Barcelona to influence matches in the club’s favour.
Xavi’s team is successful on the field, but it remains difficult outside
Former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu (L) and Sandro Rosell (R) are also targets of the lawsuit
Laporta has denied the allegations since they surfaced, insisting the club ‘never bought referees’, although former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell are also charged.
But the troubles mark the latest in Barca’s turbulent years, which saw extreme financial problems and the club was willing to sacrifice future money to succeed now.
The current controversy first hit Barcelona last month when an investigation into a company owned by Negreira revealed a payment of £1.2 million from the club, over a two-year period until 2018, for “technical advice about referees.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo subsequently reported that payments from Barcelona to Negreira’s company date back to 2001, a period which includes Laporta’s first stint as club president. He now has to testify to the detectives.
