Barcelona’s President, Joan Laporta (61), finds himself under a formal investigation related to potential bribery within a probe that encompasses two decades of activities within Spain’s refereeing committee. This revelation comes from a court document that Reuters had access to on Wednesday.
In March, prosecutors initiated a complaint, alleging payments exceeding 7.3 million euros over a span of 17 years to companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Negreira held the position of vice president within the Spanish football federation’s refereeing committee from 1993 to 2018.
Laporta, who embarked on his second term as Barcelona’s president in 2021, had previously held the same position from 2003 to 2010.
Last month, investigating judge Joaquin Aguirre Lopez said Barcelona may have benefited from graft and put the club under investigation for suspected “active bribery.”
Now Aguirre also named as suspects Laporta and “all those who were members of the board of directors of FC Barcelona during his mandate or who had an effective responsibility in decision-making to allegedly make the illicit payments” to Negreira and his son.
Barcelona, the reigning LaLiga champions, have refuted any allegations of misconduct.
In a statement released in February, the club clarified that they had remunerated an external consultant who furnished them with “technical reports related to professional refereeing.” They asserted that this practice was customary within professional football clubs.
As of Wednesday, Barcelona informed Reuters that their legal department was overseeing the case.
It is important to note that in Spain, being subject to an investigation does not automatically result in an indictment, and no formal charges can be filed until the initial stage of the inquiry is concluded.