Barcelona face charges in Jose Maria Henriques Negreira case

The scandal, which seemed to have subsided, associated with the close cooperation of Barcelona and the former football functionary Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who was responsible for the work of the judges, seems to be flaring up with renewed vigor. Spanish police raided the offices of the Spanish Football Federation’s referee committee (RFEF) as part of a case in which sources say the Catalan giants and their former executives have been accused of paying bribes. It is alleged that they may have made illegal payments to Mr Negreira amounting to almost €8 million.

Spanish law enforcement agencies confirmed reports from leading news agencies about searches carried out on Thursday at the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation. They were set up in the office occupied by her technical committee of arbitrators. A police spokesman told the AP that arrests are “not expected” as a result.

These searches seem to be connected with a loud scandal flaring up with renewed vigor, which, as it seemed just recently, was gradually fading away. At the center of it are Barcelona and the former deputy chairman of the refereeing committee, José Maria Henriques Negreira.

In the spring, the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office got interested their long-term, unexpectedly close cooperation. She found that in the period from 2001 to 2018, companies controlled by Mr. Negreira and his son received a total of about €7.8 million from Barcelona. The club changed presidents several times during this time, but the payments did not stop. Jose Maria Henriques Negreira was also paid under the current Barcelona president Joan Laporta. He was the head of Barcelona from 2003 to 2010, then gave up his post to Sandro Rossel, and in 2021 he returned to the position, replacing Josep Bartomeu, who resigned in the wake of the club’s enormous crisis. According to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, there was nothing illegal in the transfers, and the funds were compensation for certain consulting services and the preparation of technical reports on refereeing. Barcelona, ​​which denied any involvement in corruption, insisted that other clubs were taking similar steps.

The story caused outrage in the Spanish football community. The head of La Liga, which unites top division clubs, Javier Tebas called the “Negreira case” “the biggest problem in Spanish football.”

And Real Madrid has repeatedly, including during this season, referred to it, hinting at the dishonesty of its main competitor. Meanwhile, until now there has been no reason to believe that Barcelona is in any serious danger due to connections with Jose Maria Henriques Negreira. Until now, for example, there has been no known direct evidence indicating that Mr. Negreira was “working” with the referees in the interests of Barcelona. Investigation, initiated The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) also ended well for the club. His admitted to play in the Champions League, however, with the caveat that Barcelona “is obliged to inform the UEFA ethics committee in advance about the progress of ongoing investigations and provide all documents and information that are requested.”

Recent events, however, indicate an aggravation of the situation, and, apparently, a radical one. Reuters and a number of Spanish media resources, such as El Debate, citing their sources and documents in their possession, claim that the head of the Barcelona Investigative Court, Joaquin Aguirre, who is leading the case, awarded Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, Barcelona and its two former presidents – Sandro Rossel and Josep Bartomeu – the status of those accused of participating in a corruption scheme “for 17 years.” All defendants are charged with bribery. At the same time, commenting on the news, El Confidencial explained that, in accordance with Spanish law, this constitutes a much more significant violation than the “corrupt interaction” between “private individuals”, which was discussed earlier.

Alexey Dospehov