Barcelona demand Javier Tebas to resign over alleged false evidence claims in referee case: Reports
According to reports, Barcelona have called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign over false evidence claims in the referee case. The Blaugrana were accused of paying the former vice-president of the refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a sum of £7.2 million between 2001 and 2018.
La Varinguida recently reported that the documents that Tebas presented as evidence were part of another case. The La Liga president denied the accusations on his Twitter.
Barca, however, have since released an official statement asking Tebas to resign for his role in the Negreira case. It states (via ESPN):
"Barcelona, as president Joan Laporta has said in recent weeks, feel the victim of a media lynching based on events that have never occurred: Barca have never bought referees."
It continued:
"It is not the first time the president of LaLiga has used his media machinery to attack Barcelona but, aside from his usual nonsense, we could never have imagined he would have hoped to incriminate our club with false evidence."
The statement furthered:
"The news published by La Vanguardia is of such severity that it should alert all LaLiga clubs, as they are practices that should have no place in the functions attributed to the president of LaLiga. For this reason alone, but also out of dignity and respect for the presidency of LaLiga, Mr. Tebas should resign from his position."
It concluded:
"However, knowing his obsession with persecuting Barcelona and constantly showing his aversion and antipathy towards our club, we understand that he will persist in his behaviour of continuing to harm our club."
Barcelona will next host Real Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday (April 5). The Blaugrana lead the tie 1-0 after their away win in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
UEFA president reacted to the allegations against Barcelona
The allegations against Barca are one of the most serious ones in recent times. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin echoed the same sentiment as he recently told Ekipa:
"The situation is extremely serious, It is so serious that, in my opinion, it is one of the most serious [situations] in football that I have ever seen."
Despite controversies outside of the pitch, Barca have been performing fairly well on the pitch this season. They are atop the La Liga table and hold a 12-point lead over arch-rivals Real Madrid.
A Copa del Rey second leg showdown between the two top Spanish clubs is set to take place next as the Blaugrana look to reach the finals of the competition.