Negreira Case is now followed by UEFA who are investigating the matter before taking any action
Fc Barcelona are currently facing a new dangerous legal threat from UEFA concerning the Negreira Case which can eventually results in a possible Champions League ban, the case is on because of some alleged payments of millions of euros to a company linked to a Spanish refereeing official.
Being the European governing body, UEFA asked on Thursday for an investigation into the matter, which is already being pursued by prosecutors in Spain.
Champions League regulations in effect since April 2007 allow UEFA to ban teams from the competition for one season if they were involved in fixing matches.
UEFA said on Thursday it asked disciplinary inspectors to “conduct an investigation regarding a potential violation of UEFA’s legal framework by FC Barcelona in connection with the so-called Caso Negreira.”
Court documents show Barcelona paid €7.3m (£6.5m) from 2001 until 2018 to the company of Jose Mara Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee.
Prosecutors in Spain have formally accused Barcelona of corruption in sports, fraudulent management and falsification of business documents. An investigating judge will decide if this will lead to charges.
No evidence has yet been published that referees or individual games were actually influenced.
Barcelona have consistently denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.
Any proof of manipulated games in the past 16 years could see UEFA exclude Barcelona from its competitions for one year and prosecute a disciplinary case.
Barcelona have a 12-point lead in LaLiga and will almost certainly qualify for next season’s Champions League – a welcome boost after the club posted record losses last year.
SOURCE: Skysports.com
