The investigation into the corruption case has reached the point of filing charges.
The scandal around Barcelona is taking on new colors, thicker and brighter. Several Spanish publications immediately reported that the club had been formally accused of corruption. Judge Joaquin Aguirre, who is leading Barcelona’s case, decided to take this step, believing that sufficient evidence had been found that the club had committed a corruption crime. Furthermore, the accusations are aimed at both the current president, Joan Laporta, and his two predecessors: Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.
Also under accusation are the former vice-president of the referee committee of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Enriques Negreira, and his son. Recall that Barcelona claims to have paid Negreira for consultancy services, but the official could not, according to the judge, receive such payments while carrying out public functions. Negreira reportedly received a total of 7.3 million euros from the club between 2001 and 2018. The intermediary was the official’s son’s company.
News of the indictment was preceded by news that police had raided the judicial committee. True, there were no arrests and the details of this event were not disclosed.
The position of the judge
Aguirre follows a very simple logic in his actions and also relies on similar precedents from other areas that have taken place in Spanish judicial practice. No official may receive additional funds from an interested party. Although these payments are covered by some technical reports that Negreira would have provided to Barcelona. The club says it did not try to influence refereeing decisions. But Negreira himself had a direct influence on referees, having the ability to change their status and, consequently, their career path.
As a result, Aguirre decided that Barcelona were trying to gain influence over the referees through their actions. Furthermore, in the event of a judgment, you will not have to prove that the resulting impact actually occurred. For example, there is still no evidence that any of this money ended up in the hands of judges. But this is not required. Essentially, in court the prosecution will only have to prove that Barcelona had the intention of buying influence. This significantly changes the approach to investigations. In court, the club’s representatives will have to demonstrate maximum resourcefulness, finding excuses for many inconsistencies in the official version of Barcelona, which tried to act too secretly by buying “harmless” reports from Negreira.
Consequences
Since the case has taken a more specific form in the form of corruption charges, the eventual conviction of those responsible may also be changed. If, in general, a corruption crime can be punishable by a prison sentence of six months to four years, then corruption “promises” from three to six years.
And this is also extremely important of UEFA it could exclude Barcelona from European competitions and La Liga could expel them from the elite division. Such measures could have serious consequences for the club’s financial situation, which has already been difficult in recent years. Spanish mass media It is reported that some sponsors of Barcelona have a clause in the contract with the club according to which they can stop cooperating and financing the reconstruction of the Camp Nou stadium if Barcelona’s reputation suffers due to a real court decision against it.
Indeed, in the worst case scenario, Barcelona risks real bankruptcy and the loss of professional status. The club will not be able to resist such a blow. It will take a long time to recover.
The reaction of the League
The talkative president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, who is not fed, but only allows himself to add a harsh word, of course, commented on this story:
This is worrying. Things like Negreira, Vinicius, Rubiales are all bad. Now this too. In any case, it is necessary to continue the investigation to clarify the level of influence of Negreira on some judicial decisions, promotion and reduction of the status of judges. This is what we are working on. Although the very act of attempting to exert influence is already criminally punishable. The judge said so. This is already a serious example of corruption. When the club pays Negreira, he is already breaking the rules. It is a crime if the goal is to gain influence. But the case itself is not within our jurisdiction. If they had the opportunity, they would open their own business. I’ve already talked about it. We can not do it. But we can observe the investigations. We will see what the punishment will be once the criminal proceedings are concluded. There must be punishment for those who break the law. But sometimes it takes a long time to shed light on a particular issue.
Reaction from the club
At the top level, Barcelona will not comment on changes in the case. They probably could have expected that the situation would turn out like this. The first public person who had to answer questions about the investigation was Javi. The coach expresses himself calmly:
I never had the feeling that the referees helped Barcelona. Never. Look, next week there will be more news on the Negreira case, and in another 15 days there will be new news, then more in a month and a half. You already know my position. If you look at the archives you will see everything. I dont think about it. I have enough other work every day. I have to guarantee the team’s performance.
