The investigation by the Spanish prosecutors and the European Football Association into the suspected corruption of FC Barcelona and the Spanish Referee Committee continues.
Already last winter, the major Spanish football club FC Barcelona was investigated by the Barcelona prosecutor and UEFA.
Barcelona were accused of paying 8.4 million euros to the former vice-president of the Spanish Referees Committee For Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
According to the prosecutor, the club made an oral agreement with Negreira so that Negreira would favor Barcelona in matters related to refereeing.
The lawsuits filed by the Barcelona prosecutor’s office target Negreira, FC Barcelona and the club’s former presidents to Josep Maria Bartomeu and To Sandro Roselli. The charges include “corruption”, “breach of trust” and “providing false business information”.
The scandal began when Spanish media Ser Catalunya revealed that tax authorities had investigated Negreira’s Dasnil 95 company.
Now on Thursday, among others, Reuters and The BBC told, that the Spanish National Guard (Civil Guard) had raided the premises of the Spanish Referee Committee in Madrid. According to the BBC, the judge leading the investigation demanded certain documents from the referee committee, but did not receive them, which is when the police decided to search the premises.
Spanish authorities are investigating the Spanish Referees Committee for “possible systematic corruption”. Now FC Barcelona has become a suspect in this investigation regarding the Referees Committee as well. The club is suspected of corruption.
Barcelona had paid 1.4 million euros between 2016 and 2018 to Negreira’s company and more than 7 million euros between 2001 and 2018 directly to Negreira.
Barcelona and its president Joan Laporta have denied all charges. According to Barcelona’s view, the club paid Dasnil 95 for “technical consultancy” to obtain video reports of refereeing activities. According to Barcelona, the video material is useful for coaching. According to Barcelona, this is common practice in professional football.
– Let’s make it clear that Barca has never bought referees, and Barca has never had the intention to buy, Laporta said in the winter.
Last February, 18 La Liga fans said they were “deeply concerned” about Barcelona’s actions.
In July, Uefa gave “temporary permission” for Barcelona to play in the Champions League in the 2023-24 season. At the same time, Uefa announced that it is still investigating whether Barcelona had made payments to obtain favorable referee decisions.