Recent developments suggest that Barcelona is facing the possibility of being disqualified from the Champions League due to alleged payments made to a former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
This issue, ongoing for a considerable period, has gained prominence in the latest updates reported by El Debate, indicating that UEFA might consider expulsion from the Champions League as a potential course of action.
Over the span of 2001 to 2018, Barcelona is believed to have provided €7.5 million ($7.9 million) to businesses owned by Negreira. Notably, this includes the tenure of the current club president, Joan Laporta, who has consistently defended these transactions as legitimate consulting services.
In March, the Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office charged the club with “continued corruption between individuals in the sports field,” prompting UEFA to launch its own investigation. Subsequently, the charge has been amended to bribery, as the judge deems it a more fitting characterization since Negreira was involved in public functions at the time of receiving payments, which ceased upon his departure.
A recent concern for Barcelona stems from a court order where a judge remarked that it might not be necessary to prove that Barcelona tampered with competitions in Spain during a potential trial. This is because the crime of bribery is already established when an official receives payment for a favor, regardless of whether the favor is executed.
Barcelona finds itself obligated to undergo a trial to establish their innocence. However, the emergence of this new information heightens the risk of UEFA banning the club from participating in European tournaments. Such an outcome would pose a severe financial challenge for Laporta and his board.
