Barcelona accused of paying €1.4 million to former LaLiga referee chief for neutral treatment

According to reports Barcelona had paid Enriquez Negreira, the vice president of the Technical Committee for referees a sum of €1.4 million across three seasons 

Barcelona is again involved in a major corruption scandal after it was revealed that €1.4 million was paid to the vice president of the Technical Committee for referees.  

The report was first released on Cadena SER and stated that the money was paid to Negreira for three years through his company DASNIL 95, while Josep Bartomeu was the president.  

The Spanish tax agency is investigating his company according to the Diario AS, as they want to ensure that “no refereeing decisions were made against” and “that everything was neutral”.  

Negreira who has already reported to have testified in the case along with his son has denied charges and said that no preferential treatment was given to the team by the referees.  

He claimed that his agreement with Barcelona was to help him recommend the way players need to behave during the game with the referees.  

According to the Tax Agency, no document is presently in their possession that suggests any relationship between Negreira´s company and Barcelona.  

Football Club Barcelona has also responded to the allegations after they released a statement that said, “Faced with the information broadcast today on the program Quê t’hi jugues de Ser Catalunya, FC Barcelona, aware of the facts being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office regarding payments made to external companies, wants to make it clear that Barcelona hired in the past the services of an external technical consultant, who supplied, in video format, technical reports referring to players in lower categories of the Spanish State for the Club’s technical secretariat”

“Additionally, the relationship with the same external supplier was extended with technical reports related to professional refereeing in order to complement information required by the coaching staff of the first team and the subsidiary, a common practice in professional football clubs”.

“Currently, this type of outsourced service falls to a professional attached to the Football Area”.

“Barcelona regrets that this information appears precisely at the best sporting moment of the season”.

“Barcelona will take legal action against anyone who damages the image of the Club with possible insinuations contrary to the reputation of the entity that may arise as a result of this information”.

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