Negreira case

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Not to be confused with Barçagate.

The Negreira case (Spanish: Caso Negreira) is a sports scandal involving Spanish football club FC Barcelona and José María Enríquez Negreira [es], a former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). It revolves around payments of €7.3 million made by Barcelona to Negreira owned-companies from 2000 to 2018 during his tenure with CTA.[1] Barcelona claim they hired Negreira as an "external consultant" who provided the club reports "related to professional refereeing". Negreira denies having been bribed to favour Barcelona in terms of refereeing decisions.[2]

On 24 May 2024, the Barcelona Audience Court rejects the hypothesis of the alleged crime of bribery.[3][4][5]

Background[edit]

José María Enríquez Negreira [es], born in Barcelona in September 1945, is a former professional football referee who made his debut in 1979–80 La Liga season.[2] In 1994, became vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) until 2018. The payments involved in the scandal were made during the 2000-2018 period.[2]

Accusations and investigation[edit]

On 15 February 2023, reports surfaced on Spanish radio station Cadena SER that FC Barcelona had allegedly made payments to a company belonging to José María Enríquez Negreira in a potential bribery scandal.[6] Two days later, new information surfaced that showed a letter dated 5 February 2019, in which Negreira threatened to expose Barça's illegal activities in retaliation for the club finishing the contract with Negreira's firm, following a series of cost reductions.[7]

In March 2023, FC Barcelona, former FC Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, José María Enríquez Negreira, and his son Javier Enríquez Romero Negreira, were indicted for "corruption", "breach of trust", and "false business records", opening an investigation into the case.[1] In September 2023, a further charge of "bribery" was attributed to all those investigated.[1][8] On 18 October 2023, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta was also indicted on charges of "bribery, sports corruption, unfair administration, and forgery".[9]

On 24 May 2024, the Barcelona Audience Court rejects the hypothesis of the alleged crime of bribery.[10][11][12]

Reactions[edit]

FC Barcelona[edit]

On 15 February 2023, FC Barcelona issued a club statement in response to information broadcast on Cadena SER on the same day, clarifying the accusations made against the club. Regarding the payments, Barcelona claimed that the club had "hired the services of an external consultant [Negreira] that supplied the club's technical secretaries with reports in video format of youth players from other clubs in Spain", and that in addition to these reports, "the relationship with that supplier extended to technical reports related to professional refereeing in order to complement the information requested by the first and second team coaching staff".[13] However, Barcelona denied any wrongdoing, with president Joan Laporta claiming in March that "Barcelona has never bought referees".[14]

Other La Liga clubs[edit]

On 21 February 2023, a collection of a La Liga clubs issued a joint statement reacting to the investigation into FC Barcelona, expressing their "deep concern" over the information published. The clubs issuing the statement were Atlético Madrid, Levante UD, CD Tenerife, Sevilla FC, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Cádiz CF, Getafe CF, Villarreal CF, Deportivo Alavés, SD Eibar, UD Las Palmas, CD Lugo, and SD Huesca.[15] Barcelona's rival Real Madrid CF later issued a statement expressing "deep concern about the seriousness of the events".[16]

On 29 September 2023, ahead of a league match between Barcelona and Sevilla, Sevilla issued a statement rejecting the "behaviour of Barcelona during the period" for which the club was being investigated. Sevilla directors refused a pre-match meal with Barcelona directors and refused to sit in the directors' box at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Barcelona reacted by issuing a club statement rejecting Sevilla's actions, characterizing them as an "unjustified attack" and an "unacceptable offense".[17]

UEFA[edit]

On 23 March 2023, UEFA announced that it had launched an investigation into the payments by Barcelona to Negreira.[18] On 3 April 2023, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin described the Negreira case as "one of the most serious" he's ever seen.[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Corrigan, Pol Ballus and Dermot. "Barcelona facing fresh suspected bribery charge in Negreira case". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  2. ^ a b c Herrero, Pol Ballús and Laia Cervelló. "Barcelona charged with corruption over payments to former referees chief". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  3. ^ "FC Barcelona official statement". FC Barcelona. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  4. ^ "La Audiencia da la razón al Barça y anula su imputación por cohecho en el caso Negreira" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Victoria judicial del Barcelona en el Caso Negreira: No será imputado por cohecho" (in Spanish). COPE. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  6. ^ "FC Barcelona under investigation for alleged payments made to company owned by referee body's then-VP". CNN. February 16, 2023.
  7. ^ "Barcelona threatened by ex-VP of referees with burofax after stopping payments". ESPN. 17 February 2023.
  8. ^ "FC Barcelona under investigation for suspected bribery as Spanish FA offices raided by police, per reports". CBSSports.com. 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  9. ^ Sanderson, Tom. "FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta Charged With Bribery: Reports". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  10. ^ "FC Barcelona official statement". FC Barcelona. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  11. ^ "La Audiencia da la razón al Barça y anula su imputación por cohecho en el caso Negreira" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Victoria judicial del Barcelona en el Caso Negreira: No será imputado por cohecho" (in Spanish). COPE. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  13. ^ "FC Barcelona official announcement". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  14. ^ "Laporta: "El Barça nunca ha comprado árbitros" | Onda Cero Radio". www.ondacero.es (in Spanish). 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  15. ^ Ramírez, Alberto (2023-02-21). "Laporta ataca a Tebas y amenaza: "No permitiré que ensucien la historia del Barcelona"". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  16. ^ Irigoyen, Juan I. (2023-03-12). "El Madrid anuncia que se persona en el 'caso Negreira' y Laporta responde: "Ahora ya están todos"". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  17. ^ Ballús, Pol. "War of words breaks out between Barcelona and Sevilla over Negreira investigation". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  18. ^ Chiari, Mike. "UEFA Investigating Barcelona's Alleged Payments to Former VP of Refereeing Committee". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  19. ^ Gittins, William (2023-04-03). "Aleksander Ceferin says Barcelona referee scandal is "one of the most serious" he's ever seen". Diario AS. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
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