• Barcelona accused of corruption in referee matter.
• Enriquez Negreira allegedly received payment for advising the team.
• Barcelona paid Dasnil 95 over those years.

Barcelona was accused of corruption by Spanish authorities on Friday as a result of payments the club made to a former vice president of Spain’s referees’ committee via a firm he owned.

The prosecution claims that between 1994 and 2018, the Catalan club gave Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former referee and vice president of the officiating committee of the Spanish football association, a total of more than 7.3 million euros.

The identical case, brought by the Barcelona prosecutor’s office, is being brought against Enriquez Negreira, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Sandro Rosell, two of the club’s past presidents.

Enriquez Negreira allegedly received payment for advising the team on matters pertaining to referees.

Barcelona public prosecutor´s office said, “FC Barcelona obtained and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira so that, in his capacity as vice-president of the Technical Arbitral Committee (CTA) and in exchange for money, the latter carries out actions tending to benefit FC Barcelona in decisions by the referees.”

The investigation was launched after Enriquez Negreira’s company, Dasnil 95, was found to have made incorrect tax payments between 2016 and 2018.

According to reports, Barcelona paid Dasnil 95 over those years.

According to Cadena Ser radio, the final invoice was generated in June 2018. After that, the CTA underwent a restructuring, and Enriquez Negreira departed from the company.

Insisting that his team has never “paid referees,” current Barcelona manager Joan Laporta said last week.

According to reports, the Catalan side gave Enriquez Negreira’s company 6.5 million euros ($6.9 million) between 2001 and 2018.

Laporta said, “Let it be clear Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees, absolutely never.”

According to Barcelona, Dasnil 95 was paid to provide the team with refereeing advice. Prosecutors, however, believe the funds may have been used to bribe game officials.

The repercussions of the repercussions of the repercussions of the repercussions of the repercussions of the repercussions of the repercussions of the repercussions are still being felt today.

A four-year prison sentence for an accused person is possible under criminal law.

As a firm, sanctions against the club “may range from suspension of activity to outright liquidation,” Carlos III University of Madrid law professor Alberto Palomar told AFP.

A single person’s alleged conduct cannot “tarnish” the “image” and “honor” of all referees, according to a demand made last week by Spain’s refereeing authority.

Spanish Culture and Sports Minister Miquel Iceta said, “The problem concerns us because it harms Spanish football and sport.”

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