FC Barcelona, some of its former managers and the former head of arbitration José Negreira have been charged this Friday with corruption, breach of trust and false trade data, in a case of large payments to the former football referee.
The Public Prosecution Service has filed a formal complaint with the Court of Instruction Number 1 of Barcelona against the club, as a legal entity, and against its former presidents, namely Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.
The case comes on the heels of investigations launched by Barcelona’s public prosecutor’s office about a year ago, which reveal that the former head of Spain’s arbitration received almost €7 million through a company between 2001 and 2001 for alleged oral advice to the club. . 2018.
This case, in which the Catalan club is constantly linked to the crime of corporate corruption, will be merged with another, arising from a complaint filed in recent weeks by former referee and current video referee Estrada Fernández against Negreira and the Dasnil 95 company, for sporting corruption.
Alleged tax irregularities committed by Negreira’s company exposed in May 2022 the payments received by the former vice president of the Technical Commission of Arbitrators.
According to the Spanish court, Barcelona maintained “a strictly confidential oral agreement” with José Negreira, so that he “carried out actions in exchange for money to favor Barcelona in the decision-making of the referees” in their matches.
Source: DN
