Barcelona have responded to the prosecutor’s demands for prison sentences for President Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell.
The calls have arisen over alleged tax frauds concerning the signing of Brazilian star Neymar from Santos in June 2013, with the club issuing a statement on their official website.
“The Board of Directors discussed the opening of a court case against FC Barcelona, its President Josep Maria Bartomeu and its ex-President Sandro Rosell, with regards to the Neymar case. On this matter the Board would like to make the following observations:
1. Both the Club and its president reiterate their total innocence before a matter which only has financial not criminal liability, the legal differences of which should be settled on an administrative level, not in a National Court.
2. The legal profession has commented on the process and its consequences, considering it to be inappropriate. The haste with which the judicial authorities have acted in this matter is also a subject that has been considered inappropriate. The legal representative of all the involved parties will present their corresponding appeals immediately, denouncing the circumstances and the lack of any tangible crime.
3. The President of the Club, before what is considered a “great injustice”, reiterates the fact that he will continue with his intention to stand in the forthcoming elections for the Club Presidency and continue to lead the organisation with the same belief in leading by example, exercising financial control and respecting the members that he has shown until this day, focusing every effort on maintaining the Club as a reference point on a global scale.
4. The Board would like to thanks the members for their understanding and support during the presenttime,” it read.
