Laporta, Barcelona president, with captain Sergio Busquets
Anti-corruption prosecutors in Spain will investigate FC Barcelona’s management over financial payments to Jose Maria Negrera, the former vice-president of referees, in a case that has shocked the Spanish sporting community.
On Friday, a court in Barcelona indicted Barcelona’s legal capacity and its president Sandro Rosell (2010-2014) and his successor, Josep Maria Bartomeu (2014-2020), in addition to referee Neguera on charges of corruption and abuse. Trust and Fraud.
But the case took another turn after Spain’s public prosecutor announced on Tuesday that the case would be transferred to the fight against corruption because of its details.
The case first surfaced a month ago after reports revealed Barcelona had paid more than one million euros to a company owned by the Negrira family between 2016-2018, and the club admitted it had been contracted to provide technical reports. In arbitration, it indicates that all payments are legal.
But Spain’s public prosecutor accuses Barcelona, through its presidents Rosel and Bartomeu, of verbally agreeing with Negrera to favor referees at matches he played in exchange for money.
Barcelona president Joan Laborta has maintained his club’s innocence, saying on Monday the giants were under serious attack to defame him, insisting he would be in front of a judge when the latter begins to consider the case.
Since the story broke, Spanish soccer fans have started chanting against Barcelona and the referees, and some of them threw fake banknotes onto the field, as did Athletic Bilbao fans during the two teams’ match on Sunday.
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