Barcelona in danger of relegation for paying referees

Kriralok Desk: Barcelona has been involved in a major corruption scandal. The Catalan club has been accused of making an unethical payment of around 1.4 million euros to José María Enriquez Negreira, vice-president of La Liga’s technical committee of referees. Payments are made for three seasons 2016-2018. An investigation into the allegations has already started.

The news comes as the Spanish giants prepare to face Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday. Curiosity has spread in the football world about what will happen to Barca at the top of the points table in La Liga.

It was alleged in a program on Spanish radio Cadena Ser last Wednesday that Barcelona paid money to Jose María Enriquez Negreira organization DANIEL Ninety Five. 5 lakh 32 thousand 728 euros were paid in 2016, 5 lakh 41 thousand 752 euros in 2017 and 3 lakh 18 thousand 200 euros in 2018. The money scandal took place when Josep Maria Bartomeu was president of Barcelona.

Negreira and his son Javier Enriquez Romero have already testified to the prosecutor’s office and have pleaded not guilty. Negreira claimed during his testimony that the Spanish club paid the money in exchange for advice on how players should behave with referees during matches.

However, the tax agency has found no documentary evidence related to the financial transactions of Negreira’s company ‘DANIEL Ninety Five’ with Barcelona.

Barcelona explained the payment in a statement. It was noted that Barcelona had in the past engaged the services of an external technical consultant. He provided technical reports for Spain’s lower tier players via video message.

Barcelona also said in their statement that legal action will be taken against anyone who tries to tarnish the image of the club.

Meanwhile, the Catalan club’s current president, Juan Laporta, has vowed to protect the club’s reputation amid the ongoing investigation, saying Barca paid referees to investigate recent reports? This is not a coincidence. This information comes at a time when Barca are doing well. We have taken all necessary measures to protect our club.

Kri/sp-001