Barcelona to be denounced for 'continued corruption in sport' over Negreira scandal
By Sean Walsh
The Spanish Prosecutor's Office will tell courts that Barcelona have committed corruption in relation to the Negreira scandal.
Barca are alleged to have paid former referee chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira for information on match officials to help them receive preferential treatment.
La Blaugrana would receive a written report and DVD from Negreira's company featuring detailed analysis on referees and their behavioural patterns.
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Negreira even confirmed that he was paid up to €1.4m a season for 'technical advice to ensure that no controversial refereeing decisions went against Barcelona', and while he denies that he sent physical evidence to the club in way of reports and DVDs, his own son refutes this claim.
Negreira's company is believed to have raked in almost €7m from Barcelona during his time as vice-president of the Spanish football federation’s Referee Technical Committee.
El Pais, who were first to break and cover the Negreira case, now report that the Prosecutor's Office will file a complaint to courts that Barcelona have committed 'continued business corruption'.
Barcelona are alleged to have been guilty of wrongdoing dating back to when Joan Gaspart was president in 2001, with current boss Joan Laporta, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu all indicted. Only Bartomeu has been denounced alongside the club as an individual with the main offences taking place under his tenure between 2016 and 2018.
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La Liga president Javier Tebas has already ruled that Barcelona will face no sporting sanctions as over three years have passed since these offences are said to have been committed.
El Pais reached out to UEFA for comment but the governing body 'had no comment to make'.