Laporta denies Barcelona corruption charges, attacks Real Madrid

THE ATHLETIC

Barcelona president Joan Laporta reiterated that Barcelona have done nothing legally wrong after being charged with corruption.

Laporta went on to attack Real Madrid, claiming Barcelona’s rivals had historically been favoured by referees because they were “the club of the regime”.

In March, Barcelona were charged with corruption over payments they made to the vice-president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee.

Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who held that role between 1994 and 2018, is also facing charges of corruption in a case brought by the Spanish public prosecutor’s office, as is Josep Maria Bartomeu, Barcelona president from 2014-2020, and Sandro Rosell, president from 2010-2014.

Barcelona say they hired an “external consultant” who provided reports “related to professional refereeing” and deny any wrongdoing. Enriquez Negreira has denied ever favouring Barcelona in terms of refereeing decisions.

“FC Barcelona has not committed any activity with the purpose of altering the result of a competition, or receiving any sporting advantage,” Laporta said during a press conference on Monday. “I am fully convinced and can categorically state this.

“I want to mention the report from the tax authorities to the prosecutors where they clearly state they could not prove the payments made to Negreira could have an influence into the closing of referees, or to the result of any football game. They could not prove it simply because it was not possible.

“The main object of the polemics is the technical advice and refereeing advice we received. But none of this can constitute an illegal activity. Even less with criminal consequences.

“All this advice is accredited with invoices. They are all proved with bank transfers, they were part of the club’s accountability and all the correspondent taxes were correctly paid.”

During Monday’s press conference Laporta appeared on stage with four boxes filled with documents containing the 629 reports they found between 2014 and 2018 to prove Javier Enriquez work for the club.

Real Madrid confirmed their intention to join the complaint against Barcelona in March, alongside La Liga and the Spanish FA, and expressed their “utmost concern” regarding the charges.Laporta criticised Real’s decision to join the complaint and labelled it an “unprecedented show of cynicism”.