Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, acknowledged Monday that the membership has not engaged in any actions aimed toward “obtaining any sort of sporting advantage” in mild of ongoing investigations into funds made to a former refereeing chief.
Last month Spanish prosecutors charged the Catalan membership with corruption after funds of greater than 7.3 million euros ($7.8 million) to an organization owned by a former refereeing chief have been uncovered earlier this 12 months.
Barcelona says they paid Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the previous referee and ex-vice president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish soccer federation (CTA) between 1994 and 2018, for experiences and recommendation associated to refereeing.
The membership “has never done anything with the goal or intention of altering the competition to achieve some sporting advantage,” Laporta advised a news convention to debate the affair.
He added that the allegations of wrongdoing are a part of a “smear campaign” towards the Catalan facet, who’re presently prime of La Liga.
As effectively because the membership and Enriquez Negreira, two of the membership’s former presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, are dealing with the identical cost of corruption.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has stated Spanish soccer is enduring its “worst” second due to the refereeing corruption case involving Barcelona.
“The reputation of our football is at stake. I am ashamed. We have no explanation from Barcelona,” he added final month.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
