Barcelona charged with bribery in Negreira case, could face UEFA Champions League expulsion - Reports
Barcelona could reportedly face expulsion from the UEFA Champions League after being charged with bribery in the Negreira case.
Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), allegedly received payments from Barca over a 17-year period, as per El Debate (via Forbes).
It's alleged that the La Liga giants paid €7.5 million ($7.9 million) to companies owned by Negreira between 2001 and 2018. The period includes current president Juan Laporta's first stint in charge.
Laporta has denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the payments were made "honestly" for consultancy work by the said companies. However, Barca were charged for "continued corruption between individuals in the sports field" by the Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office in March.
That prompted UEFA to launch its own investigation, and Barca were provisionally allowed to compete in the UEFA Champions League, having won last season's La Liga title. The governing body said in July that pending an investigation, the club could be suspended from the competition up to a year if they were found guilty.
In a new twist to the tale, El Mundo claimed in September that Spain's Civil Guard, on being requested by the court, doubted the unbiasedness of refereers under the watch of former CTA president Victoriano Sanchez Arminio and Negreira. The duo were alleged to be running an "irregular operation."
At the end of the month, the Court of Instruction number 1 concluded that the money paid to Negreira constituted a crime. As per Cadena Ser, judge Joaquin Aguirre reckoned Negreira "participated in the exercise of public functions" when he received payments from Barca, which amounts to bribery. The payments stopped after he left the position.
Barca will now be tried on charges of bribery. A jury of nine members of the public will decide if the La Liga giants were guilty of any wrong-doing. Naturally, that has had UEFA interested, and they could suspend Barca from the competition for a year depending on how the 'Caso Negreira' evolves.
Barcelona remain unbeaten this season
On the field, Barcelona are one of a handful of clubs in Europe's top-five leagues that remain unbeaten. They have won five of their seven league games, drawing two, and also won their UEFA Champions League opener.
On Tuesday, Barca's six-game winning streak across competitions - five in the league - came to an end following a 2-2 La Liga draw at 10-man Mallorca. The visitors trailed twice before forcing a share of the spoils.
The draw knocked Barcelona off the summit of the league, with Girona (19) and Real Madrid (18) moving ahead of the defending champions, who have 17 points. Barca next take on Sevilla at home on Friday (September 29).