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Spanish prosecutors have filed corruption fees towards Barcelona and former membership presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu for allegedly making funds to an organization owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, an ex-vice-president of the referee committee in Spain who labored below the Spanish soccer affiliation between 1993 and 2018. Former membership executives Oscar Grau and Albert Soler have additionally been listed within the case.
On Friday, the general public prosecutor’s workplace investigating the case revealed that Negreira acquired roughly over €7 million in funds from the membership between 2001 and 2018 to affect match outcomes. Their declare is that below a secret settlement and in alternate for funds, Negreira favored Barcelona in each selections taken by referees in video games performed by the membership in addition to in competitors outcomes. If that is confirmed to be true, it might have a large sweeping affect throughout the membership and past.
“FC Barcelona reached and maintained a strictly confidential verbal settlement with Enriquez Negreira in order that, in his capability as vice-president of the CTA (Spanish soccer’s referee’s committee) and in alternate for cash, he would perform actions tending to favour Barcelona within the resolution making of referees within the matches performed by the membership,” learn the paperwork from the prosecutor’s workplace.
Barcelona claims that the funds had been for an exterior guide whereas denying any wrongdoing. Current membership president Joan Laporta on Tuesday mentioned that “Barcelona has not purchased off referees and it has by no means been the intention.”
“That previously Barcelona contracted the providers of an exterior technical guide, who supplied, in video type, technical stories referring to gamers from the youth classes of the Spanish state for the membership’s technical secretary,” Barcelona mentioned in an official assertion when details about the funds surfaced to the general public in February. “Additionally, the connection with this exterior supplier expanded to technical stories associated to skilled refereeing, with a view to complementing the knowledge required by the first-team and academy teaching employees, a regular apply in skilled soccer golf equipment.”
Barcelona had been flagged for €1.4 million of funds throughout a tax inspection however after overview by prosecutors, the extra charges paid and extra in depth timeframe got here into scope because of this being an ongoing investigation. Barcelona could be unable to face any particular fees from La Liga because of statue of limitations — the league can solely prosecute wrongdoing inside three years — however league chief Javier Tebas has promised to revisit the case if discovered responsible within the court docket of regulation.
La Liga not having the ability to act does not forestall UEFA or FIFA from stepping in if the membership is discovered responsible. The official cost from the Barcelona public prosecutor’s workplace consists of indictments for corruption, breach of belief and false enterprise information.
