Barcelona have issued a statement regarding the Negreira case that seeks to distance current president Joan Laporta from questions over his character and ethics, as well as reiterate the club’s claim that the case as a whole is a smear campaign.
Barcelona were charged with 'active bribery' last month following investigations into payments made to a company relating to refereeing official Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018 in exchange for information over how to act in front of certain referees.
The club have not denied that payments were made but refute the accusations of corruption and insist that what they received was "technical services" used to "improve preparations" for games.
With regard to insinuations about Laporta, who was elected president for the second time in 2021 but served an earlier term in office between 2003 and 2010, the club has issued three points:
- FC Barcelona appeared and is being investigated - not the current president.
- It is the club exercising the right to defence in the procedure.
- Potentially, the club could also be a damaged party.
The statement continued: "It should also be remembered that the case is in the pre-trial phase and that the personal judgements stated in the edict have simply created more confusion among public opinion, and on being published, has severely harmed the image of the club and its president, albeit probably unwittingly. In any case, the club, led by its president, will continue to defend the institution's legitimate interests via its lawyers involved with the legal direction of this procedure.
"We again emphasise that in the club's opinion, these actions against the management's governance are not by chance, as FC Barcelona continues to be subjected to external attacks as part of a campaign to stain the institution's name based on facts that still remain unfounded and which aims to destabilise the club in every domain, whether sporting, financial or social."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Barcelona issue statement defending Joan Laporta over Negreira case.