Barcelona have been charged with corruption over payments to the vice-president of Spanish football's refereeing committee. As a result, the Negreira case has been causing a big fuss over the past few weeks in Spain.
In this round-up we'll try to explain what the fuss is about and where it could lead the Catalans to.
What did Barca do wrong?
Barca are alleged to have paid €8m to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, former vice-president of Spain's refereeing committee, from 2001 to 2018. Prosecutors say that in exchange, Negreira would ‘carry out actions tending to favour FC Barcelona.’ In addition, prosecutors have charged Barca with falsifying a commercial document related to the case.
Is Laporta involved?
Yes...and no. It's Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu who had a verbal agreement with Negreira to favour the club during matches.
However, as the case spans the years 2001 to 2018, Joan Laporta will testify as a witness. He ran the club from 2003 to 2010 before being re-elected for his second tenure in 2021.
What might happen if found guilty?
La Liga cannot investigate Barca because the case relates to events that happened more than three years ago. UEFA though may do all sorts of punishments as offences are not time-barred under its rules. Thus, the Catalans might be barred from entering the Champions League even before a verdict in the case due to potential damages to UEFA's reputation.
However, anything at this stage would be speculations. Back in 2006, Juventus was relegated to the second tier with a point deduction for a corruption scandal involving referees. And yet, the Spanish football hasn’t seen anything similar to date.
What is Real Madrid's stance?
According to COPE, Real Madrid have decided to join the legal battle against Barcelona in the Negreira case, and will appear in court as an ‘affected party’.
