Ahead of El Clasico, Real Madrid supporters voiced their opinions to Barcelona about the recent payment allegations.
In a tense first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, Barcelona defeated Madrid 1-0.
Prior to the match, however, Los Blancos supporters staged a protest outside their stadium, TalkSport reported. The protest was in relation to the recent news that Barcelona paid the former Vice President of the Referee’s Committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
The Blaugrana have maintained that there was nothing untoward about the payments. Madrid fan’s don’t agree, and carried fake Euro notes to the game with Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s face on it. They also displayed a banner with “Corruption in the Federation” written on it, Goal noted. Following the game, Madrid fans continued to claim that Barcelona had paid off the referee, because they were unhappy with some of the decisions in the game.
Details about Barcelona refereeing payments
Earlier, Sports Brief reported things are not looking good for FC Barcelona. The club have denied any wrongdoing after allegations surfaced that they have been paying the Enriquez Negreira over the years, but new information could suggest otherwise. A registered letter from Negreira to Barcelona in 2018 has been made public. In the letter, Negreira threatened Barca after they tried to stop the payments.
Tebas wants Laporta to resign
Sports Brief reported that Joan Laporta’s reign as Barcelona president could be set for an abrupt end following the latest financial scandal rocking the Catalan club.
The five-time Champions League winners have been accused of paying more than €1.5 million to a company owned by the former Vice President of the Referees Technical Committee in Spain from 2016-18 La Liga president Javier Tebas has now called for Laporta to step down as the Barcelona president if he cannot explain the club’s 33 payments.