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Barca Under Formal Investigation For Suspected ‘Active Bribery’ In Negreira Refereeing Scandal
Barca are being looked into for possible “active bribery” in connection with the ongoing Negreira case, Reuters confirmed.
The current Liga champions are allegedly involved in an investigation into alleged corruption in Spanish football that allegedly lasted more than two decades, according to a court document seen by Reuters. It is now claimed that the scope of the investigation into that case has been expanded to include Barcelona as formal suspects.
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Police have also raided the Royal Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) Madrid offices as part of their ongoing investigation into “possible systemic corruption” inside the nation’s officiating committee. Judge Joaquin Aguirre Lopez’s claims that the Catalan giants may have benefited from dishonest officiating earlier in September had already implicated Barca in that case.
In March, prosecutors complained about Barca over payments totaling more than €7.3 million made over a 17-year period to companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of the RFEF refereeing committee.
Barca has defended their innocence at all times, stating that they paid an outside consultant for “technical reports related to professional refereeing” — a routine practise in their eyes. Early in September, Aguirre said that there had been no proof of Negreira paying referees to sway games; however, the situation has since changed.