‘It’s one of the most SERIOUS I’ve seen in football’: UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin sends a warning to Barcelona over corruption scandal that saw him accused of paying off former vice-president of Spain’s referee committee
- The UEFA president was questioned about the latest developments in the Barcelona case
- He was reluctant to expand on it, but stressed the “seriousness” of the case.
- Barcelona has consistently denied any wrongdoing while under investigation.
The corruption case against Barcelona “is one of the most serious I have seen in football,” according to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
Ceferin was reluctant to expand on his comments in an interview with a Slovenian newspaper. ekipabut cautioned that the severity of the charges is unprecedented in his experience.
Barcelona have been accused of corruption over payments made by the club to the then vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee, and UEFA last month asked him to carry out his own investigation, as well as the Spanish prosecutor’s office.
I have been informed and the situation is extremely serious. It is so serious that, in my opinion, it is one of the most serious I have seen in football,” Ceferin said. ekipa.
The Spanish Prosecutor’s Office has accused the club of maintaining a relationship with José María Enríquez Negreira in which “in exchange for money” they carried out actions that “would contribute to Barcelona being favored in the decision-making of the referees.”
Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA president, addressed corruption allegations against Barcelona
Barcelona president Joan Laporta continues to deny wrongdoing as courts investigate
The indictment says the club paid 7.3 million euros (£6.46 million) to DASNIL and NILSAT, two companies owned by Negreira.
“I cannot comment directly on this for two reasons,” Ceferin added.
‘Firstly, because we have an independent disciplinary committee in charge of it. And secondly, because I have not dealt with this matter in detail.
“At the level of the Spanish League, the matter is prescribed and cannot have competitive consequences. The process is ongoing at the level of the Spanish civil prosecutor’s office. But as far as UEFA is concerned, there is nothing prescribed.’
Controversy first hit Barcelona last month when an investigation into a company owned by Negreira revealed a £1.2m payment by the club, over a two-year period to 2018, for “technical advice on referees”.
spanish newspaper The world He later reported that Barcelona’s payments to Negreira’s company date back to 2001, a period that includes Joan Laporta’s first spell as club president. He will now have to testify to the investigators.
At the time, Barcelona issued a statement in which it admitted having hired the services of an “external” adviser who provided it with reports “related to professional arbitration to complement the information required by the coaching staff”, something that it said was “a common practice in professional football’. clubs’.
Later The world revealed that when Barcelona stopped paying Enríquez Negreira, the lawyers sent them a fax referring to a relationship that had “lasted so many years with so many favors rendered and so many confidences shared.”
Barcelona has been accused of corruption for payments to a former official of the referees
Laporta was asked about the scandal in early March, saying: “Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had any intention of buying referees.” Absolutely never.
“The forcefulness of the facts contradicts those who try to change history.”
No evidence has yet been published that individual referees or games have actually been influenced.
Barcelona has consistently denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying it paid for referees’ technical reports but never tried to influence their decisions in matches.