Barcelona have been charged with suspected bribery for funds price greater than €7 million ($7.3m) made to corporations linked to the previous vp of the refereeing committee, José MarÃa EnrÃquez Negreira, in response to court docket paperwork.
Former Barça presidents Josep MarÃa Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell additionally stand accused of the identical fees, as do Negreira and his son, Javier EnrÃquez Romero.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, extra (U.S.)
Barça had beforehand been charged with alleged corruption in sport, corruption in enterprise, false administration and the falsification of business paperwork.
In the meantime, Spanish police raided the places of work of the refereeing committee on the Royal Spanish Soccer Federation [RFEF] in Madrid on Thursday for documentation in relation to the case.
The Police mentioned they’d not made any arrests and have been performing on the orders of choose Joaquin Aguirre, who’s investigating the case.
“All RFEF personnel have collaborated always with the request for info from the authorities. The RFEF stays on the disposal of the Justice for the only goal of clarifying the details underneath investigation as quickly as doable,” the Spanish federation said in a statement.
A Spanish court docket first accepted a grievance lodged by prosecutors in opposition to Barça, their former presidents and the Negreiras in March and opened an investigation.
The addition of the bribery fees might now velocity up a course of that has been ongoing since February, when the funds have been first revealed.
In Spain, a bribery offence solely requires proof {that a} public official or authority has requested cash or some compensation to make an influenced choice throughout the scope of their powers.
Barça paid Negreira’s corporations greater than €7m between 2001 and 2018 whereas he was the vp of the refereeing committee. He had beforehand been a referee within the Spanish high flight.
Barca president Joan Laporta has mentioned the funds have been for “technical reviews about referees” and denied the membership has ever “purchased referees or affect.”
Nevertheless, prosecutors accused Rosell and Bartomeu of getting an settlement with Negreira wherein “he would perform actions aimed toward favouring Barca within the decision-making of the referees within the matches performed by the membership and thus within the outcomes of the competitions.”
Rosell was Barca president from 2010 to 2014 earlier than Bartomeu changed him. After six years on the helm of the Catalan membership, Bartomeu resigned in 2020, with Laporta elected as his substitute in 2021.
Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez addressed the story in a information convention on Thursday.
“You recognize my opinion,” Xavi mentioned. “I’ve by no means had the sensation that the membership have benefitted from refereeing. By no means.
“I haven’t got time to mirror on way more than that, I am targeted on sporting points. Subsequent week there will likely be one other Negreira story, in 15 days one other after which extra a month.”
In a while Thursday, Barça introduced annual income of over €1 billion and after-tax internet revenue of €304m for the 2022-23 marketing campaign.
“The membership can report that the 2022/23 monetary yr has closed with a internet revenue of €304m after taxes, a outcome increased than that permitted in final season’s finances,” Barça said in a statement.
“Through the 2022/23 season, Barcelona achieved, on a consolidated degree, working earnings of €1.259bn with working bills of €1.165bn.”
Sources have advised ESPN that the consolidated earnings didn’t embrace all the cash from the gross sales of some membership property — known as monetary levers – – which make up the remainder of the earnings.
As a result of extraordinary nature of the asset gross sales, which Barça used in the summertime of 2022 to fund participant signings, income will drop this season.
“For the 2023/24 season, the membership tasks income of €859m and a revenue of €11m earlier than taxes,” the assertion added.