Spain’s Barçagate referee payment scandal is still growing

• Barcagate is drawing more and more attention in Spain.
• It was discovered that FC Barcelona had paid almost 7 million euros.
• This money was allegedly used to pay for reports on referees.

The “Barcagate” issue, which involves money FC Barcelona paid to a former referee, is drawing more and more attention in Spain.

This week, “Barcagate” came to light when it was discovered that FC Barcelona had paid almost 7 million euros to a consultancy run by former referee and vice-president of the referees technical committee Jose Maria Negreira.

This money was allegedly used to pay for reports on referees and youth team players at other clubs, but former Barca coach Ernesto Valverde, who is currently the head coach of Athletic Club Bilbao, told the press on Saturday that he had never seen any reports during his two and a half years at the club. Jorge Patasso, who served as Tata Martino’s assistant in the 2013–14 season, also stated that they had never seen any reports.

When both Barca and Real Madrid declined to sign it, an attempt by the 42 La Liga clubs in the first and second divisions to issue an united communique expressing concern about the matter was foiled. However, the 14 clubs that make up La Liga’s Delegate Committee did issue a statement on Tuesday expressing their “deep concern” and “maximum seriousness” about the allegations, which many believe may have contributed to Barca receiving favourable refereeing decisions for a time between 2001 and 2018.

Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, stated on Monday that if current Barca president Joan Laporta, who also served as president from 2003 to 2010 and would be back in 2021, “He should quit if he is unable to provide an explanation for the payments. In response, Laporta asserted that Negreira’s services were “billed and those bills had the documental and audiovisual support that related to them” during his first mandate during a news conference on Tuesday “reports that.

After that, Laporta attacked Tebas, claiming that he had “demonstrated his anti-Barcelonism, his fear, and his fixation against Barca.” Laporta described Tebas as having a history of being obsessed with Barcelona and said he would “not give him the satisfaction” of leaving.

The fact that Negreira’s attorneys said he had Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages and couldn’t testify added to the difficulty of the situation.

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