Barcelona Issue Scathing Statement in Response to Directors' Resignations

Barcelona have released a scathing statement slamming Emili Rousaud and the five other directors who resigned from the club on Friday for 'serious and unfounded accusations'.

The resignations of a significant chunk of the boardroom were ​tendered in the midst of the coronavirus chaos on Friday as a group, headed by Rousaud and fellow vice president Enrique Tombas, cited the club's handling of the crisis, as well as the social media scandal in February, where Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique were allegedly attacked on social media by a firm said to have been hired by the club.

​Barcelona have hit back furiously, releasing a statement on Friday afternoon that takes no prisoners. 

"I​n the light of the serious and unfounded accusations made this morning by Mr. Emili Rousaud, ex institutional vice president at the Club, in different interviews with the media, FC Barcelona categorically denies any activity that can be described as corruption, therefore, reserves the right to any legal action that may correspond," the ​statement reads. 

"As such, the analysis of the monitoring service for social networks is currently the subject of a wide-ranging independent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) which is still being carried out and as a result is yet to reach any conclusions and with the Club having provided all the relevant information requested by PWC since the start of the process.

"Finally, the resignations of the members of the Board of Directors announced over the last few hours have come about due to a reorganisation of the Board put forward by president Josep Maria Bartomeu and which will be completed in the next few days. 

​"This reorganisation of the board of directors is an attempt to face the challenge of the final phase of the mandate in the best way possible with the objective being the implementation of the necessary measures to prepare for the club’s future, overcoming the consequences of the public health crisis which is currently upon us and to bring to a conclusion the management programme began in 2010 and the Strategic Plan approved in 2015."

It has been a tumultuous year for the Catalan giants - especially off the pitch. Despite the adversity, the clubs sat top of La Liga before the enforced hiatus, two points clear of arch rivals Real Madrid.