FC Barcelona in court for alleged corruption of former refereeing manager

Barcelona and former president Josep Maria Bartomeu will respond in court for alleged corruption consummated in millionaire payments to the former head of arbitration José María Enríquez Negreira, reveals the EFE agency, citing judicial sources.

The corruption case comes as a result of investigations that the public prosecutor of Barcelona began about a year ago and which show that the company of the former head of Spanish arbitration received almost seven million euros for alleged verbal advice to the club, between 2001 and 2018.

The Attorney General of the Spanish State is now analyzing the public prosecutor’s complaint, in which the Catalan club is associated with the crime of corruption in business on an ongoing basis.

Alleged tax irregularities committed by Negreira’s company exposed, in May 2022, the payments received by the former vice-president of the Technical Commission of Arbitrators.

In addition to the allegedly corrupt leader, Barcelona, ​​as a legal entity, its former president Josep Maria Bortomeu and other members of the board will also respond for the facts in question.

“What was clear is that Barcelona never bought referees, nor did it ever intend to. Never! The forcefulness of the facts contradicts those who try to change history. We are strong again. None of this is casual”, commented the current president, Joan Laporta.