Barcelona release statement following huge decision in Negreira case with Blaugrana no longer standing accused of bribery

The Catalan giants stood accused of trying to influence decisions after it emerged that money had been transferred across several years to the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Jose María Enriquez Negreira.

Barca have always refuted those claims, but a judge decreed that they would have to face charges of bribery. That ruling has now been overturned by The Barcelona High Court, with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office having already opposed an investigation into supposed bribery by persons that did not have the required public official status in order to carry out such an offence.

A statement issued by the Liga giants on the club’s official website reads: “FCB is satisfied with today’s ruling by the Barcelona High Court insofar as it confirms the approach defended by the Club and rules out the hypothesis of the alleged crime of bribery. We maintain our conviction that through the courts we will be able to definitively clarify the facts that are the subject of the complaint and prove the Club’s absolute innocence.”

Those in Catalunya maintain that the payments in question were made in exchange for technical and scouting reports on match officials and players. Club president Joan Laporta has previously presented proof of that argument, in the form of documentation, but the Blaugrana have only now been cleared.