Barcelona have been accused of corruption by bribing referees, in relation to the payments made to the former vice president of the referees committee, José María Enríquez Negreira. The club reportedly made payments worth €7 million to Negreira, who received it through his company.
Former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu, Sandro Rosell and Negreira as well as his son, Javier Enriquez Romero stand accused of the crime. The Spanish police raided the office of the referees committee in Madrid to find documentation related to the case. The police said that no arrests were made and that they were carrying out the orders of judge Joaquin Aguirre.
Barcelona accused of bribing referees in relation to Negreira case
The payments were first revealed in February and an investigation has been ongoing since that time itself. But, no direct links have been found which could result in trouble for Barcelona. As a result, no punishment has been given to the club yet.
Further investigations have revealed that there could be a case of corruption involved. However, it hasn’t been proven by the prosecutors yet.
Negreira had been paid €7 million between 2001 and 2018 for ‘technical reports’ on players and information on how to better work with officials. Any charges of corruption have been denied by current president Joan Laporta.
But, former presidents Rosell (2010-2014) and Bartomeu (2014-2020) have been charged with bribing referees to get results favouring the club.
