Barcelona paid for refereeing services – Newspaper Kommersant No. 30 (7475) dated February 17, 2023

Spanish football club Barcelona is at risk of falling into a potentially very unpleasant scandal. The Spanish authorities found out that the Catalans paid the vice-president of the technical committee of referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Enriques Negreira for several seasons for some technical reports on refereeing. The club assures that this is a common practice and there is no crime here. RFEF is currently taking a wait-and-see attitude, as there is no evidence that Barcelona received any illegal benefits from Mr. Negreira for their money. However, if any appear, the Catalans face harsh punishment – up to and including expulsion from the top Spanish division.

Barcelona may be involved in a high-profile corruption scandal, potentially with the most unfavorable development of the situation for the club, threatening it with expulsion from the Spanish top division.

The Spanish tax authorities found out that Enriques Negreira, vice president of the technical committee of RFEF referees, received a total of about €1.4 million from Barcelona in 2016-2018.

The money was transferred to the account of a company controlled by Mr. Negreira. The funds were not properly declared, which is why Enriquez Negreira had questions. Cooperation ceased in 2018 after the leadership of the RFEF changed, which led to personnel changes in the structures that manage the judiciary.

Be that as it may, the very fact of transferring money from the club to one of the leaders of the judiciary raises many questions. The club said that Enriquez Negreira’s company was preparing technical video reports on refereeing for first-team coaches.

In particular, according to the publication El PaisNegreira’s company, before each match of the championship or the Spanish Cup, compiled for Barcelona something like a dossier on the refereeing team assigned to the game.

In Barcelona, ​​they assure that there is nothing criminal in this story and that in general this practice is common for football clubs. In addition, the Catalans declared their readiness to actively defend their interests and respond to all suspicions of corruption.

It is not yet possible to refute the position of Barcelona. The club is not even a defendant in a criminal case initiated by the prosecutor’s office of Catalonia. Only Enriques Negreira himself passes through it. Moreover, the Catalans always have the opportunity to shift the blame on the former management of the club. Enriques Negreira was paid money under Josep Bartomeu, who resigned as president of Barcelona back in 2020. The current head of the Catalans, Joan Laporta, has repeatedly resorted to explaining the difficulties faced by Barcelona with the unprofessional actions of his predecessor.

It is possible, however, that in the course of the investigation new circumstances will be revealed, and then the scandal will sparkle with new colors.

Not surprisingly, RFEF has taken a wait-and-see attitude. At the moment, the federation has not yet begun a full-fledged investigation – the case is at the stage of collecting preliminary information. “RFEF considers it necessary to bring the following to the attention of the public. Following the election of the President of the RFEF at the end of May 2018 and with the arrival of the current team, the leadership of the technical committee of referees has been updated. Previous leaders were dismissed, among whom was Enriques Negreira, ”the federation said in a statement. It also notes that all RFEF employees must report all their income so that they can always be verified. RFEF made it clear that information is still scarce at this point. “As soon as sufficient information is received, the RFEF will take appropriate action,” the federation said in a statement.

Alexander Petrov