UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin acknowledged on Monday that the Barcelona referee scandal is likely one of the most severe conditions he has ever seen in soccer. UEFA, the European soccer governing physique, opened an official investigation into FC Barcelona over the “Negreira case” simply final month. Meanwhile, the membership have requested La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign.
Spanish prosecutors have filed corruption expenses 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.
The 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 trade 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, this might turn into one of many main earthquakes within the current historical past of the membership.
“The state of affairs is extraordinarily severe,” Ceferin informed Slovenian newspaper Ekipa on Monday.
“It is so severe that, in my view, it is likely one of the most severe [situations] in soccer that I’ve ever seen.”
Ceferin would not have an excellent relationship with the Spanish membership after Barcelona, amongst different eleven European golf equipment, determined to affix the proposed European Super League. Despite the failure of the undertaking, Barcelona determined to stay a part of it with Real Madrid and Juventus, whereas all the opposite golf equipment left.
“I can not remark straight on this for 2 causes,” Ceferin stated. “Firstly, as a result of we’ve got an impartial disciplinary committee answerable for this. And secondly, as a result of I’ve not handled this matter intimately.”
“At the extent of [La Liga], after all, the matter is time-barred and might haven’t any aggressive penalties, however the proceedings are ongoing on the stage of prosecutors. But so far as UEFA is worried, there’s nothing time-barred.”
At the identical time, FC Barcelona have fired again towards Tebas and requested for his resignation. On Monday, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia claimed that Tebas despatched a doc to the prosecutor, written by former Barcelona director Josep Contreras, that implicated Bartomeu and Rosell within the alleged crimes of economic impropriety and misappropriation.
FC Barcelona responded by way of a press release:
“Given the gravity of the data that has appeared at the moment Monday in La Vanguardia by which La Liga president Javier Tebas is linked to the presentation of false proof to the general public prosecutor to incriminate our membership, FC Barcelona needs to expresses its deepest indignation, anger and dismay.
“For that purpose, we urgently require the La Liga president to look in public to clarify himself, past the tweet despatched within the early hours by Mr. Tebas, missing substance and with a threatening tone.
“If just for this truth, that of giving himself powers that don’t belong to him, though additionally for causes of dignity and respect for the presidency of La Liga, Mr.Tebas ought to resign from his submit. Nevertheless, conscious of his obsession with persecuting FC Barcelona and displaying his fixed averse and manifest dislike of our Club, we perceive that the present La Liga president will persist in his efforts to maintain damaging our membership.”
