Spanish prosecutors are investigating arch-rival Barcelona over payments to former arbitration officials
Real Madrid have convened an emergency meeting to determine the club’s official position on the scandal of payments to former refereeing officials by arch-rivals Barcelona. The Madrid squad released a statement in which President Florentino Pérez had called to decide what actions Real Madrid could take in relation to this matter. The meeting is scheduled for noon (11:00 Brasilia time) this Sunday 12.
This Saturday, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández also commented on the Negreira case during a press interview before Sunday’s match against Athletic de Bilbao for the Spanish league. The Catalan team captain tried to concentrate on the match, but when asked about the scandal with the referees he said it “won’t destabilize us”. Spain’s prosecutor is investigating Barcelona over payments to the former director of arbitration between 2016 and 2018.
Xavi also said the matter fell within the remit of the Catalan club’s president, Joan Laporta, and that he had told him to “remain calm”. The manager has ensured that he is focused on the Spanish league, in which Barcelona lead with 62 points. Real Madrid are second in the national tournament.
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
Spain’s prosecutor is investigating Barcelona over payments to a former soccer referee from the country. The club reportedly paid €1.4m, or R$7.7m, to José María Enríquez Negreira between 2016 and 2018. Barça confirmed the payments, but did not disclose the amounts.
The case came to light, according to Spanish radio, during an investigation into the payment of taxes by DASNIL 95 SL on the amount received in those three years. The values have not been confirmed by Barcelona. But on Wednesday 22 February, the club issued a statement to reiterate the payments.
“FC Barcelona has in the past contracted the services of an external technical consultant, who provided, in video format, technical reports relating to lower-tier players in Spain to the technical secretariat of the Club,” said the Barcelona board. , in the statement.
The Catalan club claims the practice is “common” among professional football clubs. “Furthermore, the relationship with the external provider itself has been expanded with technical reports related to professional arbitration, in order to integrate the information required by the technical committee of the main team and the subsidiary, a common practice in professional football clubs.”
Barcelona have reported that this service is now performed by a professional from the club itself. And he regretted that “this information appears precisely in the best sporting moment of this season”. “FC Barcelona will take legal action against anyone who damages the image of the Club with possible insinuations against the reputation of the entity that could derive from this information.”
To the Spanish newspaper Marca, the former president of Barça, Josep Maria Bartomeu, reiterated that this type of service is recurrent in the world of football. “All clubs need an analysis of the match from an refereeing point of view.”
Source: Terra
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