Josep Maria Bartomeu must wait for a judge’s ruling to find out if he will be implicated in the so-called ‘Neymar-gate’ proceedings.
According to Marca, government lawyer Edmundo Bal has refused to rubber-stamp Barca member Jordi Cases’s request for the ongoing case to be broadened, which would include both the Barcelona President and the club’s economic Vice-President Javier Faus charged with improper management and tax fraud.
In a document sent to Pablo Ruz, the judge in the case, the lawyer questions Cases’s right to implicate Bartomeu and Faus for the offences and puts the onus on the judge to do so.
In January, Ruz started an investigation against former Blaugrana chief Sandro Rosell, who was accused by Cases of embezzling funds following Neymar’s arrival.
The refusal to charge Bartomeu and Faus is understood to be a result of lack of information and the fact that Neymar’s father and the club’s financial director have still to testify.
“In view of these circumstances, we deem it unnecessary at this time to broaden the lawsuit to include Josep Maria Bartomeu and Javier Faus, as the plaintiff has requested, or for them to testify as defendants”, and earlier judgement concluded.
