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Last Update: February 16, 2023, 20:34 IST
La Liga President Javier Tebas (Twitter)
Tebas clarified that the league would not ban the club, citing the statute of limitations, amid allegations that FC Barcelona paid almost £1.4 million to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-chairman of the referee’s technical committee.
Amid the ongoing conundrum that FC Barcelona is facing following leaks that suggest the Catalan side paid Jose Maria Enriquez Negrera, former vice-chairman of the referee’s technical committee, almost £1.4 million, La Liga president Javier Tebas Said that the Spanish giants would not be sanctioned.
Tebas clarified that the league would not ban the club, citing the statute of limitations.
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“It is impossible for the sports sanctions to have happened had the statute of limitations expired,” Tebas said in a statement.
The Catalan giants have been accused of bribing Negreira during the club’s president Josep Bartomeu’s tenure between 2016 and 2018.
Negreira and his son claimed that the payments were made only because of consulting work and that they had no intention of wrongdoing, as they denied the allegations in testimony to the prosecutor’s office.
The money is said to have been transferred to a Negreira-based company called DASNIL 95, and according to the 77-year-old, the remuneration was in exchange for advice on how players should behave with referees and which official they should base their actions on. But what can and cannot be done. Was in charge of a particular match.
However, Negreira failed to submit any of the required documents in an attempt to substantiate his statement.
The football club also denied the allegation through an official statement.
“FC Barcelona has in the past employed the services of an external technical consultant, who supplied technical reports in video format to the club’s technical secretariat referring to lower-class players in Spain,” the club said.
It is alleged that the club paid €532,728.02 ($571,000) in 2016, €541,752 ($580,000) in 2017 and finally €318,200 ($341,000) in 2018.
“Another thing is criminal proceedings or offenses of corruption between private individuals. We have to wait for the public prosecutor’s office. If there is a complaint, we have to appear,” he continued.
But the La Liga chief did not rule out further action as Barcelona’s judicial system opens an investigation into the allegations.
“From a moral and aesthetic point of view this cannot happen in Spanish football,” the 60-year-old said.
Barcelona are currently at the top of the La Liga rankings and have an eight-point advantage over nearest rivals Real Madrid after 21 games in the league.
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