Negreira case judge exonerates Barcelona of sporting corruption, no payments made to referees

Glory and controversy go hand in hand in the realm of football. The more success a club tastes, the more drama they are bound to attract. Barcelona’s journey is accentuated by moments of triumph, but equally by controversies that fuel heated debates.

And one of the recent topics sparking discussion is the ‘Negreira case’, with the Catalan giants being accused of bribing referees by paying money to a company owned by former Vice President of the Referees’ Technical Committee, chief Enriquez Negreira.

However, despite the heat Barça have faced from the media and the efforts made by investigators, not a single shroud of evidence backing the claims have surfaced.

Barcelona in the clear

Indeed, according to SPORT, Joaquin Aguirre, the judge leading the Negreira case, has already given his verdict and made it clear that there have been no signs that Barça could have influenced the former referee to achieve better results, nor that there was a purchase of referees, as had been rumored.

According to reports, the judge appears to be looking into this case solely because he sees some tax crimes, not sports corruption.

The document released to the public accepts that Barça stopped paying Enriquez Negreira when he resigned as vice president of the referees association; however, it also clarifies that since Negreira was not refereeing at the time, he was unable to influence the game.

The judge states that throughout Negreira’s claimed ten-year collaboration with Barça, the conceivable payment to third parties—which is not demonstrable—would total €557,871.52.

Joaquin Aguirre makes it very clear that “there is no evidence that it could influence the results,” adding that “there is no payment to any referee, and all withdrawals from the bank account have been requested.”

As such, Barcelona appears to have earned exoneration after fighting the vicious accusations. Time will tell how the story develops, but Joan Laporta and his board members can take a sigh of relief.