Negreira Case 2023: The Caso Negreira scandal involves FC Barcelona and José Mara Enrquez Negreira, a former top Spanish referee. Barcelona is accused of making illicit payments to Negreira between 2001 and 2018.
The annual payments ranged from €70,000 to €700,000. The case has been under investigation since early 2023, with the Guardia Civil of Spain even searching the headquarters of the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) for evidence related to the case.
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Who is José Mara Enrquez Negreira ?
José Mara Enrquez Negreira is a well-known figure in Spanish football. He served as a referee in the first division of Spanish football from 1975 until the 1991-1992 season. Over the course of his career, he officiated 132 games, during which he sent off 50 players and issued around 433 yellow cards. He retired from the game at the age of 46.
After his retirement, he continued to be involved in football in various capacities. He was appointed Vice President of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) in 1994 and maintained that position until the 2017-2018 season.
Negreira Case prosecutors charges
According to prosecutors, Barcelona paid Negreira in exchange for him to favor Barcelona in refereeing decisions. Barcelona denies the allegations, stating that they never “bought referees or influence”.
The complaint focuses on €2.9 million paid between 2014 and 2018. The complaint alleges that Barcelona reached a “confidential verbal agreement” with Negreira with the help of former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Former Barcelona President Bartomeu claimed that payments were made to DASNIL in exchange for “technical reports” only.
Court documents show that Barcelona paid €7.3 million ($7.7 million) to Negreira’s company between 2001 and 2018. The club stopped making payments around the same time Negreira left his position as Vice President.
Barcelona claims that they paid Negreira for “technical reports on refereeing”. They say that this is a common practice among professional football clubs.
However, there is no evidence that referees or game results were influenced during the period in which Barcelona made the payments.
Aftermath
La Liga’s statement
La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, mentioned that the issue is crucial for ongoing investigations. Real Madrid has expressed its utmost concern about the gravity of the events and has reiterated its trust in the legal system.
Well in the recent match with Sevilla FC, the following statements were made by the clubs respectively on 29th of September.
Sevilla issued a statement expressing their outrage at Barcelona over the case. The statement said, “We express our complete outrage and condemnation of the actions carried out by the former officials of FC Barcelona who are indicted in the Negreira case”. Sevilla also suspended the normal protocol for the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC, and had no representation in the Montjuic stadium’s VIP box.
Sevilla FC club statement
Followed with their statement, FC Barcelona issued a statement saying that the legal decision announced does not alter the club’s legal and factual position in the process. The statement also said that the club will appeal the decision. The statement said, “The so-called Negreira Case cannot serve as an excuse for such actions, since the judicial procedure is in a very premature investigation phase”.
They also mention that the relationship between the two clubs are not normal now. Mexican standoff at Spanish clubs. Its bad to be true. A lot of FC Barcelona players have been ex Seville players and vice versa some of whom are actually playing for their clubs
FC Barcelona club statement
The aforementioned Negreira Case cannot be used as an excuse for such measures, given that the legal case is in a very early phase and the position of Sevilla FC clearly prejudices the facts that have yet to be established in any shape or form.
Moreover, the legal decision announced today does not alter in any way the legal and factual position of FC Barcelona in the process; it is legal disputable; it does not come from any firm basis and it will be appealed against by the Club.
Furthermore, the FC Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, appeared in an extraordinary assembly of LaLiga, called for this very case, where he gave comprehensive clarifications and explanations on this question.
Sevilla FC’s position, therefore, appears illogical given that on the one hand it ignores the presumption of innocence and on the other denies FC Barcelona its right to a defence in the legal process which is currently ongoing.
In the light of this unacceptable and unjustifiable position of Sevilla FC, FC Barcelona believes that all institutional relations with the institution from Seville have been broken off until their current position is rectified.
Conclusion
Well Barcelona players did well and got qualified in the Ballon D’Or list of best 30 players however that success or its celebration has taken a back seat. Rather this case has become a national news. FC Barcelona has hit back hard with all these allegations however the question still remains why are these reactive measures been taken rather than a proactive approach. La Liga has been a controversial league in terms of refereeing decision and when there is a lack of proactive corrections these scenarios keep happening.