>> to the Camp Nou football stadium, the FC Barcelona stand.
Barcelona – The Spanish public prosecutor's office accused FC Barcelona of corruption, embezzlement and falsification of documents. The lawsuit is aimed not only at the Catalan club itself, but also at officials led by former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell. The current La Liga leader faces controversy over possible referee interference between 2016 and 2018.
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The newspaper El País already wrote about the upcoming accusation on Tuesday. Today, after all the formalities have been completed, the AFP agency reported on him with reference to the Barcelona court.
According to information from the radio station Cadena Ser, between 2016 and 2018, Barcelona transferred a total of almost 1.4 million euros to the account of a company belonging to the then vice-president of the committee of CTA referees José Marío Enríquez, who is also among the accused. The money was allegedly paid for consulting services. Representatives of Barcelona and Enríquez admitted the payments in their statements, but denied that they were bribes.
Already in February, the president of the Spanish Football League, Javier Tebas, ruled out that Barcelona would face punishment on the sports field. Even if proven guilty, cases older than three years are time-barred under the guidelines. But he did not rule out a possible prosecution in a civil court, which has now been confirmed.
The former president of Barcelona Bartomeu, who held the position between 2014 and 2020, is responsible for the payments. His predecessor Rosell is also among the accused. The current boss of the Catalan club, Joan Laporta, who is otherwise very critical of him, recently defended Bartomeu. According to Laporta, the use of counseling services is common. Barcelona coach Xavi also expressed himself in this spirit.
