FC Barcelona under investigation for bribery in referee payments case

FC Barcelona and two former club presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, are being investigated for bribery by a Barcelona court. 

Until now, they were being investigated for sports corruption as part of the so-called 'Negreira case' involving payments to referees, but Judge Joaquín Aguirre has modified his inquiry. 

José María Enríquez Negreira, the former referee under investigation, and his son, Javier Negreira, will also be investigated for bribery. 

The judge has also ordered Spanish police, the Guardia Civil, to search the headquarters of the referees technical committee in Madrid to locate documentation related to the case. 

Bribery 

In a 21-page statement, the judge explained that he opened the new avenue of investigation on August 31. 

The court is investigating payments totaling around €7.5m to various companies owned by the former referee and his son, for advice and reports on referees between 2000 and 2018. 

The case was being investigated as a crime of sports corruption because that usually occurs when members of a team pay referees or members of another team to win matches fraudulently, the judge said. 

In the 'Negreira case,' however, the payments were allegedly made to a federation official in order to influence him. 

According to the judge, sports federation officials are considered public officials in legal terms. For this reason, the crime of sports corruption cannot be applied to them, which is between individuals. Instead, the crime of bribery must be applied. 

Signs of criminality 

In his statement, the judge recalled that Spain's Tax Agency has already sanctioned Barça for undeclared payments to Negreira's companies. 

He also noted that Barça and Negreira did not have any written contract to entrust the former vice-president of the referees technical committee with 'scouting' tasks or refereeing advice. 

In addition, he said that Negreira, as a federation official, had to maintain an "impartial and equitable role with all the teams." Receiving money from a team, without a contract, to make reports on the referees that he supervised at the referees' technical committee was therefore "incompatible" with his position. 

The judge pointed out that "even if other teams had made similar payments, FC Barcelona's conduct would still show signs of criminality, as other clubs also performing the same illegal act does not make it lawful." 

"Habit does not make an act legal," he added. 

"Enríquez Negreira was aware that illegal acts of considerable gravity had taken place in favor of FC Barcelona," the judge concluded. 

Listen to the podcast below for more on the 'Negreira case'.