The discussions about the Negreira Case continue, although at times the tension drops. After the exchange of accusations between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at the beginning of this week, showing a strong blow to their public relations, now the one who took up the voice was LaLiga, the organization that runs the first division of Spanish soccer, pointing out that the culé institution has not been clear enough about the investigation.
“We do not consider that the explanations that FC Barcelona has given have been clear. I have personally told him (Joan Laporta, the culé president), because it is unintelligible to spend so many years paying the vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA). Most of the clubs have said that this was not normal, that these payments were not correct and that they should be investigated”, he mentioned. javier thebes, president of LaLigaafter the Extraordinary General Assembly that was held on April 19.
The situation facing Barcelona since February 15 refers to a total of 7.3 million euros that the club allegedly paid to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira when he was the vice president of the CTA in a period of almost two decades, between 2001 and 2018, although the investigation is only taking into account the final period from 2014 to 2018.
From this, FC Barcelona has been accused of receiving help from the arbitration decisions led by the Technical Council of Enríquez Negreira in said period; even without thinking this, the institutions around LaLiga consider that the payment of more than 7 million euros was an atypical situation and that is why they ask for clarification.
“Laporta has said that the payments were not intended to buy referees or influence. For their part, the clubs (of LaLiga) have said that this was not normal, that it was not usual and that these payments are not correct and that it should be investigated. None (of the clubs) has said that they understood the explanations (of Laporta). He has not clarified anything, he has not convinced his explanations and that will continue where appropriate, ”added Javier Tebas.
At the beginning of the week, Joan Laporta accused Tebas of acting “irresponsibly” in his statements on the Negreira Case, in which he publicly questioned the moral quality and behavior of FC Barcelona. The culé president also said that he felt this whole situation as “the fiercest attack against the club in the course of history”.
In this regard, Javier Tebas mentioned: “Those statements were made at the time and I have nothing more to add. Later I spent a couple of minutes talking with Laporta and he said that he missed that the clubs had not called him, but the one who should have called to give explanations was him. We must thank him for coming to the Assembly, maybe he should have done it before, but he has come and has shown his face, we must appreciate it ”.
However, the president of LaLiga insisted that the investigation into FC Barcelona must continue before the corresponding instances, both in the organization he directs and in the Spanish courts and in UEFA itself.
“It is not a specific issue, it has been 18 years and there have been many presidents involved. Lowering the level of criticism (towards FC Barcelona) in our surroundings would be a mistake. People today want institutions to fight and investigate any indication of corruption, not cover it up and put it under the table.
FC Barcelona also asserted at the beginning of the week that it has compiled a total of 269 technical-refereeing reports in which has not identified corrupt behaviorsin addition to pointing out that they have evidence of documents, such as invoices and payments, about the provision of services that were approved in terms of criteria for sports areas, but for Tebas “and the majority of teams” in LaLiga, this has not been enough to clarify the situation.
The Extraordinary General Assembly also served to confirm an extension of the agreement between LaLiga and the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE), in which increases were decreed to the minimum salary of first division soccer players, which will now be 182,000 euros, and for second division, which will reach 91,000 euros per season.
In addition, it was established that the players may receive compensation of up to 200,000 euros for injuries that lead to total disability, while their rest days will continue to be every December 24, 25 and 31, as well as January 1, being dates exempt from programming any type of matches.
