La Liga: Barcelona under investigation in case of suspected bribing of referees

La Liga club Barcelona is currently under investigation for possible involvement in “active bribery.” This comes as a part of a larger probe targeting alleged corruption within the refereeing committee that stretches back two decades, according to documentary evidence presented to Reuters on Thursday.

Law enforcement officials also proceeded to search the premises of the Spanish refereeing committee (known as the CTA), located within the football federation (RFEF) headquarters in Madrid. This search operation was undertaken as part of an ongoing investigation to uncover any potential systemic corruption within the CTA.

This comes at a time when Spanish football, and the RFEF notably, are facing serious allegations of sexual abuse, particularly involving its erstwhile chief, Luis Rubiales. Rubiales sparked a whirlwind of controversy due to his unsolicited kiss with World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso. Following the uproar, which overshadowed the women’s team’s victory in Sydney and the unfolding refereeing scandal, Rubiales tendered his resignation.

The scope of the investigation has since been expanded to include Barcelona as a potential suspect. Judge Joaquin Aguirre Lopez disclosed in early September that the club might have been a beneficiary of corrupt practices.

Earlier this year, in March, prosecutors mounted a case against alleged payments exceeding 7.3 million euros (equivalent to $7.8 million) over a period of 17 years to companies managed by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who formerly served as the vice-president of the RFEF’s refereeing committee, between 1993 and 2018.

Attempts to reach Negreira by Reuters have proven unsuccessful. The RFEF was unable to provide a comment immediately.

A source from Barcelona disclosed to Reuters that the club is not planning any official statements on this matter. The club’s criminal lawyers have been anticipating this scenario and are thoroughly prepared to deal with all related aspects.

Barcelona’s manager Xavi, who represented the team from 1998 to 2015, maintained that he never perceived any referee bias favoring Barcelona.

“I have never, ever, had the sensation that the referees were ruling in our favour. Never, ever,” Xavi told reporters.

The club has resolutely denied any wrongdoing and assured in a statement in February that they only employed external consultants for “technical reports related to professional refereeing”, a practice they claim is standard among professional football clubs.

Intriguingly, their arch-rivals Real Madrid have sided with the prosecution in the lawsuit as a party that has suffered damages.

Judge Aguirre revealed that Negreira was responsible for rating and assessing the referees. Nonetheless, any empirical evidence indicating that Negreira had bribed referees to manipulate match outcomes remains elusive.