Former referees chief José Negreira is being sued by a current official, Xavier Estrada Fernández. The reason behind it was due to fraudulent payments received on account of sporting corruption.
Jose Negreira allegedly received payments worth £1.2 million from Barcelona for neutral treatment and for technical advice on how to get better treatment from referees. He formerly served as the vice president of the Spanish FA’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) and received the payments between 2016 and 2018.
Jose Negreira corruption case deepens with latest revelation
Fernandez’s case was presented on Friday, stating that Negreira provided Barcelona with advice and services based on how to get better treatment from referees.
He was reportedly on Barcelona’s payroll for receiving payment, for receiving payments through his company, DASNIL 95 SL. However, La Liga has stated that it cannot give punishments for cases more than three years ago.
Documents have now surfaced which reveal that Barcelona paid DASNIL 95 SL a total of £5.8 million from 2001. As things stand, the investigation is still ongoing and criminal charges may be brought forth if deemed necessary.
Barcelona have put out a statement saying that they only paid Jose Negreira for technical advice. But, it remains to be seen whether they will be charged further for their actions under former president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
