FC Barcelona manager and former team captain Xavi Hernandez has opened up about his thoughts after the club was accused of bribery charges. The club faces a possible ban from the UEFA Champions League and a point reduction at La Liga if these accusations are proven in court.
In a recent interview, Xavi spoke about his opinion on the bribery accusations that are being put up against the club. The manager dismissed the accusations by saying, “I never had the feeling that referees have benefited us. Never.”
According to news outlet El Debate, the judge handling the ‘Negreira Case’, Joaquin Aguirre, has charged the club with bribery alongside their former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell. This also includes the former Vice-President of the Technical Committee of Referees Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira and his son.
The Catalan giants reportedly paid $7.9 million to Negreira’s company in the time frame of 2001 to 2018. Although the club insists that the payments were made for consultation services.
Xavi has strongly denied Barcelona’s referee bribe allegations. pic.twitter.com/n6Gy6fJk4B
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 28, 2023
However, following a few recent developments, the judge has now reportedly come to believe that bribery is a more fitting charge than the “continued corruption between individuals in the sports field” charge made in March. This is because Negreira was a part of the public function when he received payments from Barca which stopped when he left his position.
Barcelona coach Xavi flunked off the Barca bribery issue and said new stories will come up each week
FC Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has stated the questions regarding the club’s involvement in the Caso Negreira. The Spaniard has stood beside his side as he said new stories will always be there each week.
In a recent interview, the former Barcelona and Spain captain stated how he is done with all the questions regarding the Negreira case as he pointed out. He said, “Next week there will be another piece of news about Negreira and the following week. I don’t make reflections of this kind. I don’t have much time and I’m focused on the team.”
The club has been under scrutiny since March when the Negreira scandal first came out. Now the judge who’s handling the case has charged the club with bribery along with the other former higher officials who are included and are thought to be the mastermind behind this whole scandal.
🗣️ Xavi Hernandéz: “Next week there will be another Negreira story, then the week after, another…”
“I don’t make reflections of this kind. I don’t have much time and I’m focussed on the team.” pic.twitter.com/FELp6tQoOg
— Barça Insider (@theBarcaInsider) September 29, 2023
The club is currently in the second position in this season’s league table. But they face threats of a possible points deduction if found guilty of the charges they have against them. The La Liga president Javier Tebas is said to be supportive of the idea of dropping points.
It is now to be seen where this case heads up next. Will the club actually be proven guilty of bribing the referee to make decisions in their favor? Or will the club come out clean as is already being said by the present board and club members ever since the accusations first surfaced?
