The Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor maintains that FC Barcelona carried out payments to the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), José María Enríquez Negreira, so that the referees were favorable to the Barcelona club.
This is stated in the complaint filed this Friday by the Public Ministry before the Court of Instruction number 1 of the Ciudad Condal. “Through the Presidents [del Barça] Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, FC Barcelona reached and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with the accused José María Enríquez Negreira, so that, in his capacity as vice president of the CTA and in exchange for money, he carried out tending actions to favor to the FC Barcelona in the decision-making of the referees in the matches played by the club”, concludes the letter.
These payments would have been made through two Negreira companies, which would have issued invoices to the sports entity “without them responding to any provision or real technical advisory services”. However, who was in charge of these companies was the son of the arbitrator. The Public Ministry points out, however, that it is not proven that the latter knew about his father’s business.
The prosecutor details that these alleged favors could affect “the results of the competitions”, the appointment of referees and recalls that the promotion and relegation of the referees depend on the Technical Committee, “as well as the proposal of candidates for international referees”.
The complaint from the Public Prosecutor goes against FC Barcelona, as well as against Negreira, Rosell and Bartomeu. The document refers to payments worth 2.97 million euros that the club paid between 2014 and 2018. Negreira was vice president of the CTA since 1994 and held that position until 2018.
The Public Ministry accuses him, Rosell and Bartomeu of a continuous crime of corruption between individuals, within the framework of sports fraud. Also, of crimes of unfair administration and documentary falsification.
Other exalted charges of FC Barcelona have also been denounced by the prosecutor, for the same crimes as the rest of the list. Is about Oscar Grauformer executive director of Barça, and Albert Solerancient professional sports director
Enríquez Negreira, within his duties as number two of the arbitrators under the chairmanship of Sanchez Arminio in the CTA and Angel Maria Villar in the RFEFparticipated in the evaluations of the referees after each performance.
The Prosecutor’s Office focuses its complaint on the payments that the culé club would have made to Enríquez Negreira during the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, seasons in which Barça paid 2.97 million euros to the former referee.
| YEAR | SOCIETY | AMOUNT (€) |
| 2014 | NIDSAL SCP | 645,559.2 (VAT included) |
| 2015 | NIDSAL SCP | 640,970.98 |
| 2016 | DASNIL 95 SL | 644,600.91 |
| 2017 | DASNIL 95 SL | 655,519.92 |
| 2018 | DASNIL 95 SL | 385,022.00 |
| TOTAL | 2,971,673.01 |
However, there is evidence that these fraudulent movements of money would have occurred since the early 2000s. Negreira was a professional arbitrator from 1975 to 1992 and, later, vice president of the CTA from 1994 to 2018.
The vice-presidents of the Technical Committee of Referees also form part of the Disciplinary and Merit Commission of the entity. The Prosecutor’s Office also underlines that the accounts of the two companies “were fed, practically in their entirety, from the income from FC Barcelona”. All this, without being provided for in the club’s statutes or having been approved by its General Assembly and “without any legal support”.
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