Sanctions threat against Barcelona remains in place

Three years after the Negreira case came to light, confusion still clouds a saga marked by contradictory accounts and unanswered questions. Whether sporting corruption will ultimately be proven remains to be seen, but as Aleksander Ceferin, president of European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, said days after it broke, it was “one of the most serious cases” he had encountered in the game.

Three years have passed since it emerged that Barcelona had paid $9.1 million to the former vice-president of Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees through the ex-official’s own company – a revelation first reported by Cadena SER Catalunya on the program Qué t’hi jugues, led by Sique Rodríguez. The matter remains before the courts and in certain sporting offices. The judicial process continues, as does the sporting one. The latter has largely faded from public debate, and dismissing it may prove a mistake.

UEFA has not closed the file. Despite claims from Barcelona’s inner circle that no one is talking about it, Article 4 continues to loom. FIFA is observing from a distance. Any sanction would fall under UEFA’s jurisdiction, and the European body has not moved on – so much so that it could, at any moment, impose punishment on the Catalan club for allegedly influencing the sporting development of a competition.

The response from Joan Laporta’s board – presenting four cardboard boxes two months later, supposedly containing 629 technical reports (which were later said to have been destroyed) and 43 CDs prepared by the son of José María Enríquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018 – mirrored the tone of the proceedings in court. Statements and attitudes from those implicated have revolved around one indisputable fact: the payment of the aforementioned $9.1 million to the former referee, who now claims he is not physically fit to testify.

Contradictions, as acknowledged by the court itself, have become commonplace. What is no longer disputed is that the payments to Negreira existed. The uncovered invoices confirm it. Initial explanations suggested that the reports were prepared by Javier Enríquez, the son of the man whose name defines the case. Yet his company’s contract with Barcelona covered only a single year. Although Gerard López has said the reports were helpful, neither Luis Enrique nor Ernesto Valverde ever saw them. His collaboration began in 2014 – not during the preceding 13 years.

All former Barcelona presidents who have testified speak of sporting advice and of merit earned on the field. Yet that argument was undermined by the documented multimillion-dollar payments to the vice-president of the referees’ committee. It is striking that they now feel compelled to prove what they once took for granted, but that necessity stems from their own actions. Meanwhile, Real Madrid once again assumes the role of adversary – and appears ready to act accordingly.

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