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FC Barcelona and several of soccer The club’s current and former executives are officially under investigation as suspects for “sustained crime of active corruption,” according to a court document obtained by CNN – the latest twist in an alleged improper payments scandal that is overshadowing Spanish football.
The investigation concerns alleged irregular payments awarded by Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira, a former leading referee in Spain.
On Thursday morning, members of the Spanish Civil Guard searched the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) looking for evidence related to the case, a Guardia Civil spokesperson told CNN.
The spokesperson declined to give further details about the search, but said no arrests were expected.
An FC Barcelona source told CNN that the club had no official statement on the investigation, but added that its lawyers had considered all possible legal outcomes – including the club’s current designation as a suspect – and that They were working and making progress on this point. base.
Earlier this year, prosecutors filed a formal complaint with a Barcelona court, alleging that the club practiced “continuous corruption between individuals in the sporting field” in what was dubbed the Negreira case – “the Negreira case” – in Spanish football.
Prosecutors alleged that several current and former club executives were aware of payments – worth more than 7 million euros (nearly $7.4 million) – invoiced to two companies founded by Negreira, who was vice-president of the CTA from 1993 to 2018, who “acted on behalf and for the direct benefit of Barcelona.
The CTA is the governing body responsible for deciding which referees and assistants will officiate at league and domestic competition matches in Spain.
According to the official prosecutor’s complaint, filed in March this year, the club is accused of having entered into a “strictly confidential verbal agreement” with Negreira with the aim of producing “actions tending to favor Barcelona in the form of arbitration decisions” .
Judge Joaquín Aguirre López, a magistrate presiding over the trial at Barcelona’s 1st Court of Instruction, said in the court document dated Wednesday that, rather than continuing the corruption, the alleged crimes committed by Negreira, Barça and other suspects constituted corruption.
According to the court document, Aguirre López said that “the crime of corruption was consummated at the time of payment, whether or not systemic corruption of Spanish arbitration resulting from these payments is proven.”
The court document then details payments made each year from 2001 to 2018, ranging from 70,000 euros ($74,000) to 700,000 euros ($740,000) per year.
The judge added in the court document that since the payments stopped when Negreira left his position in 2018, “by logical deduction” the club’s interests have been “satisfied” due to the duration and increase payments. He added that in his opinion the payments “produced the desired effects on the referees”, leading to “consequent systemic corruption in…Spanish refereeing” affecting football in the country.
In February, Barca said a “thorough and independent investigation” was underway, and in March an FCB source strongly denied to CNN that the club had at any time bribed a referee or attempted to influence decisions arbitrations.
Asked about the latest developments in the Negreira case At a press conference on Thursday, head coach Xavi said: “You already know my opinion on the Negreira case. Next week there will be another story about Negreira. In 15 days, another one. And in a month and a half, another one too.
He added: “I never had the feeling, never, and I repeat, that the referees took advantage of us. Never.”
Commenting on the Civil Guard’s visit to the RFEF headquarters, La Liga president Javier Tebas told reporters on Thursday that it was “a very important subject to be able to continue the investigations, that is why the authorization was was given for the search.
LaLiga is listed as a plaintiff in the case, alongside Barcelona’s soccer rival Real Madrid.
The Whites said in a March statement: “Real Madrid wishes to express its greatest concern about the seriousness of the facts and reiterates its confidence in the judicial system. The club has agreed that, to defend its legitimate rights, it will appear at the trial when the judge opens it to the parties involved.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, told CNN it had no comment while an investigation was underway. However, he previously said that Barca were provisionally allowed to participate in European club competitions and that a future decision on their admission or exclusion was pending.
CNN reached out to Negreira through his company for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
CNN’s Matt Foster contributed reporting.
