What ex-Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said about the Barçagate scandal

The appearance of Ernesto Valverde was always going to be an interesting one, given everything that has happened ever since the outbreak of ‘Barçagate’. He was the coach of Barcelona in the 2017-18 season, the last in which payments were made to Enríquez Negreira from the club, when he held the position of vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees.

Diario AS asked the coach about the scandal in the pre-match press conference before tomorrow’s visit to Atlético Madrid, to which he said: “I had no idea about all that, it’s a bit surprising for us, well, for me; it will all become clearer. We don’t have all the data, we have to be cautious, let’s see where all this goes. It was also a surprise for me”.

More detail:

Valderde: ‘I didn’t even look at them’

He was asked about the system that Barça used to receive the referee reports: “I don’t remember, it’s something common: the statistics of the referee that you get for each game... some evaluation that they make for us, in the last few games how things have gone for us, if they give out more cards, reports that reach Aspiazu (his assistant). At Barcelona, I didn’t even look at them, I didn’t even know they existed”. A statement that fuels the controversy even more: Negreira was paid for a service that the manager did not pay any attention to.