Negreira case
{{Short description|Spanish football scandal}}
{{distinguish|Barçagate}}
The Negreira case (Spanish: Caso Negreira) is an ongoing sports corruption investigation involving Spanish football club FC Barcelona and José María Enríquez Negreira, a former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The case centers on payments totaling approximately €8.4 million, made by Barcelona to companies linked to Negreira between 2001 and 2018, during his time at the CTA. FC Barcelona claim they hired Negreira as an external consultant to provide technical reports on refereeing. Negreira has denied being bribed to influence refereeing decisions.
In May 2024, a Spanish court dismissed bribery charges against Barcelona and several of its current and former presidents, ruling that Negreira was not considered a public official under Spanish law. However, the investigation continues under the broader charge of sports corruption.
In late August 2024, prosecutors also accused Negreira’s associate, Ana Paula Rufas, of money laundering, following the discovery of €3 million transferred to accounts in her name between 1992 and 2023.
Background
Negreira, born in Barcelona in September 1945, is a former professional football referee who made his debut in 1979–80 La Liga season.{{Cite web |last=Herrero |first=Pol Ballús and Laia Cervelló |title=Barcelona charged with corruption over payments to former referees chief |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4290919/2023/03/10/barcelona-negreira-corruption/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=The Athletic |date=10 March 2023 |language=en}} In 1994, became vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) until 2018. The payments involved in the alleged scandal were made during the 2000 to 2018 period.
Accusations and investigation
On 15 February 2023, reports surfaced on Spanish radio station Cadena SER that FC Barcelona had allegedly made payments to a company belonging to Negreira in a potential bribery scandal.{{cite web |date=February 16, 2023 |title=FC Barcelona under investigation for alleged payments made to company owned by referee body's then-VP |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/16/football/fc-barcelona-under-investigation-for-payments-spt-intl/index.html |website=CNN}} Two days later, new information surfaced that showed a letter dated 5 February 2019, in which Negreira threatened to expose Barcelona's illegal activities in retaliation for the club finishing the contract with Negreira's firm, following a series of cost reductions.{{cite web |date=17 February 2023 |title=Barcelona threatened by ex-VP of referees with burofax after stopping payments |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelona-espbarcelona/story/4879846/barcelona-threatened-by-ex-vp-of-referees-with-burofax-after-stopping-payments-report |website=ESPN}}
In March 2023, FC Barcelona, former FC Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, José María Enríquez Negreira, and his son Javier Enríquez Romero Negreira, were indicted for "corruption", "breach of trust", and "false business records", opening an investigation into the case.{{Cite web |last=Corrigan |first=Pol Ballus and Dermot |title=Barcelona facing fresh suspected bribery charge in Negreira case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4908658/2023/09/28/barcelona-negreira-bribery/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=The Athletic |date=28 September 2023 |language=en}} In September 2023, a further charge of "bribery" was attributed to all those investigated.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-28 |title=FC Barcelona under investigation for suspected bribery as Spanish FA offices raided by police, per reports |url=https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/fc-barcelona-under-investigation-for-suspected-bribery-as-spanish-fa-offices-raided-by-police-per-reports/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=CBSSports.com |language=en}} On 18 October 2023, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta was also indicted on charges of "bribery, sports corruption, unfair administration, and forgery".{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Tom |title=FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta Charged With Bribery: Reports |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2023/10/18/fc-barcelona-president-joan-laporta-charged-with-bribery-reports/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
On 24 May 2024, the Barcelona Audience Court rejected the hypothesis of the alleged crime of bribery.{{cite web|url=https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/4027294/fc-barcelona-official-statement|title=FC Barcelona official statement|publisher=FC Barcelona|date=24 May 2024|access-date=24 May 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/deportes/20240524/9673152/audiencia-da-razon-barca-anula-imputacion-cohecho-caso-negreira.amp.html|title=La Audiencia da la razón al Barça y anula su imputación por cohecho en el caso Negreira|language=es|publisher=La Vanguardia|date=24 May 2024|access-date=24 May 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cope.es/programas/tiempo-de-juego/noticias/victoria-judicial-del-barcelona-caso-negreira-sera-imputado-por-cohecho-20240524_3314459|title=Victoria judicial del Barcelona en el Caso Negreira: No será imputado por cohecho|language=es|publisher=COPE|date=24 May 2024|access-date=24 May 2024}}
In September 2024, Judge Aguirre extended the investigation’s ‘instruction phase,’ which involves collecting evidence, by another six months. Barcelona’s annual financial report, shared with club members earlier this month, stated that no evidence of corruption within a sporting context had been found so far. The report also noted that it was still too early to determine the potential financial or sporting consequences. For the investigation to progress, prosecutors need solid proof that a crime occurred—specifically that Barcelona’s payments to Negreira were intended to manipulate sporting outcomes or that such manipulation actually happened. As September 2024, no strong case appears to have been established. Sources familiar with the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicated that given the number of charges and witnesses involved, it could take several years to reach a final conclusion.{{Cite news |last=Corrigan |first=Dermot |title=Barcelona and the Negreira case: What's the latest? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5846919/2024/10/16/barcelona-negreira-case-payments-update/ |access-date=2025-02-10 |work=The New York Times |date=16 October 2024 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
Reactions
= FC Barcelona =
On 15 February 2023, FC Barcelona issued a club statement in response to information broadcast on Cadena SER on the same day, clarifying the accusations made against the club. Regarding the payments, Barcelona claimed that the club had "hired the services of an external consultant [Negreira] that supplied the club's technical secretaries with reports in video format of youth players from other clubs in Spain", and that in addition to these reports, "the relationship with that supplier extended to technical reports related to professional refereeing in order to complement the information requested by the first and second team coaching staff".{{Cite web |title=FC Barcelona official announcement |url=https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/3065705/fc-barcelona-official-announcement |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=www.fcbarcelona.com |language=en}} However, Barcelona denied any wrongdoing, with president Joan Laporta claiming in March that "Barcelona has never bought referees".{{Cite web |date=2023-03-07 |title=Laporta: "El Barça nunca ha comprado árbitros" {{!}} Onda Cero Radio |url=https://www.ondacero.es/deportes/futbol/laporta-barca-nunca-comprado-arbitros_2023030764075ed3561a6f0001abdbe6.html |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=www.ondacero.es |language=es}}
= Other La Liga clubs =
On 21 February 2023, a collection of a La Liga clubs issued a joint statement reacting to the investigation into FC Barcelona, expressing their "deep concern" over the information published. The clubs issuing the statement were Atlético Madrid, Levante UD, CD Tenerife, Sevilla FC, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Cádiz CF, Getafe CF, Villarreal CF, Deportivo Alavés, SD Eibar, UD Las Palmas, CD Lugo, and SD Huesca.{{Cite web |last=Ramírez |first=Alberto |date=2023-02-21 |title=Laporta ataca a Tebas y amenaza: "No permitiré que ensucien la historia del Barcelona" |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/deportes/futbol/2023-02-21/laporta-tebas-negreira-explicaciones-barcelona_3579840/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=elconfidencial.com |language=es}} Barcelona's rival Real Madrid CF later issued a statement expressing "deep concern about the seriousness of the events".{{Cite web |last=Irigoyen |first=Juan I. |date=2023-03-12 |title=El Madrid anuncia que se persona en el 'caso Negreira' y Laporta responde: "Ahora ya están todos" |url=https://elpais.com/deportes/2023-03-12/el-madrid-anuncia-que-se-persona-en-el-caso-negreira-y-laporta-responde-ahora-ya-estan-todos.html |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=El País |language=es}}
On 29 September 2023, ahead of a league match between Barcelona and Sevilla, Sevilla issued a statement rejecting the "behaviour of Barcelona during the period" for which the club was being investigated. Sevilla directors refused a pre-match meal with Barcelona directors and refused to sit in the directors' box at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Barcelona reacted by issuing a club statement rejecting Sevilla's actions, characterizing them as an "unjustified attack" and an "unacceptable offense".{{Cite web |last=Ballús |first=Pol |title=War of words breaks out between Barcelona and Sevilla over Negreira investigation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4913641/2023/09/29/barcelona-sevilla-negreira-investigation/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=The Athletic |date=29 September 2023 |language=en}}
= UEFA =
On 23 March 2023, UEFA announced that it had launched an investigation into the payments by Barcelona to Negreira.{{Cite web |last=Chiari |first=Mike |title=UEFA Investigating Barcelona's Alleged Payments to Former VP of Refereeing Committee |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10069818-uefa-investigating-barcelonas-alleged-payments-to-former-vp-of-refereeing-committee |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}} On 3 April 2023, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin described the Negreira case as "one of the most serious" he's ever seen.{{Cite web |last=Gittins |first=William |date=2023-04-03 |title=Aleksander Ceferin says Barcelona referee scandal is "one of the most serious" he's ever seen |url=https://en.as.com/soccer/aleksander-ceferin-says-barcelona-referee-scandal-is-one-of-the-most-serious-hes-ever-seen-n/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Diario AS |language=en-us}}