BARCELONA
Former Barcelona managers Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde to testify in Negreira scandal
The Prosecutor’s Office has summoned the ex-Barça coaches to clarify whether referee reports existed and were used in their time at the club.
The Spanish Prosecutor’s Office plans to summon former Barcelona managers Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde as witnesses in the ‘Negreira Case’ in order to question them on whether they knew about the alleged referee reports, according to El País. The Prosecutor’s Office intends to clarify whether or not these reports existed and, if they did, whether the coaching staff used them.
Luis Enrique was in charge at Camp Nou between 2014 and 2017 and was replaced in the dugout by Valverde, who stayed in the job until January 2020. The current Athletic Club coach has already spoken publicly about the alleged reports, saying that he wasn’t aware of their existence in a press conference on 18 February.
Ernesto Valverde: Referee reports “normal”
“I had no idea about them at all. It’s a bit of a surprise for us...well, for me. I’m sure it’ll be cleared up. I don’t remember referee reports but it’s common to have statistics about referees who are going to take charge of your games...how they have dealt with us in previous games, what our results were in those games, whether they show more cards...They were reports that (Jon) Aspiazu (Valverde’s assistant) received. I didn’t even look at them in Barcelona, I didn’t even know they existed”.