In a shocking series of events, soccer fans could see FC Barcelona get relegated from La Liga. Barcelona has been accused of paying $1.5 million to the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. This news comes at the worst possible time for Barcelona as they reach the business end of the season.
This incident allegedly occurred during the reign of former Barca president, Josep Maria Bartomeu. As per reports, Barca paid $1.5 million to DASNIL 95, which is a company owned by Negreira. Catalan radio program SER Catalunya explained that Negreira received $571,000 in 2016, $580,000 in 2017, and $341,000 in 2018. However, Negreira has denied the reports of Barca receiving preferential treatment from the referees.
Negreira, who was a former La Liga referee, explained that FC Barcelona paid him the money for his advisory services. During his testimony at the Prosecutor’s Office, Negreira and his son explained that they received the money for giving tips to players regarding their behaviors in front of certain referees. However, Negreira has been unsuccessful in producing any documents proving his claim.
Barcelona has put out a statement regarding this controversial incident. The club stated that they had indeed hired the services of an external technical consultant. However, they denied the accusations and have warned to take legal action against anyone that tried to besmirch the reputation of Barca. Barca also regretted that the accusations appeared when Barca is in great momentum in the season. Currently, Barca sits at the top of La Liga, 8 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid.
Fans react to the accusations against FC Barcelona
These accusations have riled up a lot of Barca fans. As soon as the news came out about Barcelona, it spread on social media platforms like wildfire. Many fans have had some hilarious reactions to the controversial news about Barcelona.
One fan wrote, ” Florentino looking at his two ESL partners going « CAN YOU BUMS STOP COMMITTING CRIMES FOR FIVE MINUTES ? ».” Another one wrote, “I know Madrid fans and media cried a lot about this but they may have been right after all.” There were also comments like, ” Looks like VARcelona is back on the menu boys,” and, “Can somebody explain how is this not a conflict of interests? If employee of company X is getting paid to provide information how to deal with company X in way that benefits other party – isn’t that illegal?”
Currently, there are only rumors about what would happen to Barcelona if found guilty. Barca might have to face relegation from La Liga if they are actually found to be guilty. On the other hand, they could also face a similar punishment to Juventus and have some points deducted from the current campaign.