Prosecutors in Spain have charged Barcelona with corruption over payments the club made to companies owned by former Vice President of Spain’s referee’s committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018. The payments made during this period amounted to €7.3m (£6.4m).
Prosecutors filed the complaint against Barcelona and their two former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu on Friday over payments allegedly made to Negreira’s companies to influence the results of matches.
In their complaint, prosecutors allege that Negreira used his position to favour Barcelona in the decisions taken by referees in their matches and in the results of the competitions the club participated in, in exchange for money.
Last month, Barcelona admitted to making the payments but denied any wrongdoing in doing so, claiming that the payments were made to Negreira’s firms as an external consultant to supply them with technical reports related to professional refereeing. The club said this was a common practice among professional clubs.
Now that the complaint has been formally filed, the judicial investigation into the matter has properly begun. Barcelona told reporters that they will fully cooperate by all means necessary. They insist they have never bought any referee to influence match results and decisions.
The complaint focuses on the €2.9m Barcelona paid to Negreira between 2014 and 2018 after which former presidents Rosell and Bartomeu reached a “confidential verbal agreement” with the official. It should be remembered that this is the period Barcelona won the treble and retained the league title and some more Copa Del Rey trophies under Luis Enrique.
This corruption investigation was triggered by a tax inspection into Negreira’s companies, but he claims that the payments were made so the club could have “neutral” referees in their games.
