In the background of Spanish football, on the day it was made public that the board of the Referee Committee was fired, the Negreira case is rumbling. The corruption probe, in which former CTA vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira and Barcelona accused of sporting corruption, is getting closer to a test.
The case, which dominated the headlines when it first came up in 2022, the authorities investigated a series of payments to various companies in which Negreira was involved for a period of 17 years between 2001 and 2018, which amounted to a total of € 7 million and € 8 million. Barcelona has denied misconduct and claims that Negreira was assumed on consultancy.
As reported by EFE and quoted by MD, former Barcelona managers Ernesto Valverde and Luis Enrique cried the position of persecution to testify in the process. The current Athletic Club coach was in charge between 2017 and 2020, while the Paris Saint-Germain manager was in charge of the Blaugrana the three seasons earlier. The persecution would like to testify to the effectiveness of the referee reports that Barcelona has received from Negreira.
The current President Joan Laporta will also be called to the stands. Laporta was originally investigated as part of the corruption probe, but dropped from the case because his involvement was outside the status of limitations. However, persecution is of the opinion that HSI testimony about the motive behind contracting Negreira will be important for their case.
It is still not clear when the case will be brought to court. The courts in Barcelona recently granted an extension of the investigation because they are looking for statements from some of the people involved. This includes former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, who will talk to the authorities in September.