Football Football – FC Barcelona Press Conference – Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain – 17 April 2023 FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta during press conference REUTERS/Albert Gea
BARCELONA – FC Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, said on Monday that all payments by the football club to a company owned by a senior refereeing official are to the is a matter of advice and is not intended to gain any illegal sporting advantage.
Laporta said an internal investigation conducted by the club did not reveal any wrongdoing and he considered the incident a staged campaign to discredit Barcelona.
He accused La Liga president Javier Tebas of “trying to damage Barcelona’s reputation”.
He also attacked their rivals Real Madrid, who joined the prosecutor’s case against Barcelona, saying Real have historically been favored by referees.
Spanish prosecutors last month filed a complaint against Barcelona over payments of 7.3 million euros ($7.95 million) between 2001 and 2018 to companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira .
Negreira was vice-chairman of the refereeing committee of the Spanish Football Association from 1993 to 2018.
A court in Barcelona agreed to take the case. UEFA has also opened a formal investigation into a possible breach of European football’s regulatory framework in the Negreira case.
Laporta said in a press conference that Barcelona, in connection with the Negreira deal, sought technical advice from “someone who had a career in football”.
“The advice does not constitute any kind of misconduct or criminal offence,” he said.
Standing in front of a box that he said contained 629 technical reports, 43 CDs and 4 supplemental reports, Laporta said professional advice is transparently executed and invoices are registered in the system. Barcelona’s accountants have passed the financial examination.
“The Spanish Tax Service has sent a letter to the Prosecutor’s Office saying that it cannot prove that payments to companies related to Mr Negreira affected the outcome of any match,” he said. speak.
Laporta also called on UEFA to be fair to Barcelona in the investigation.
LaLiga told Reuters on Monday it would not be making any comment regarding Laporta’s allegations.
“The Nergreira case should be fully investigated by the appropriate authorities,” it said.
Tebas said in March he reported the incident to UEFA because no penalty could be imposed under Spanish sports law as three years had passed since the alleged violations. tie.
Reuters has asked Real Madrid for comment on Laporta’s comments.
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