El Caso Negreira continues to dominate news in the Spanish football scene, just under a week from when the story first broke that Barcelona had paid the company of Enrique Negreira, former Vice President of the Techincal Committee of Referees.
The payments, which took place between 2016 and 2018, totalling €1.4m, were revealed to be for scouting reports and reports on particular referees, which were used by the first team in order to better manage them on the pitch.
Many associated with Spanish football have been up-in-arms at the news, including La Liga president Javier Tebas, who called on Joan Laporta to resign if the Barcelona president couldn’t explain the scandal.
Several clubs in the country have also been furious at the news, and have subsequently released a statement, via La Liga, which has “rejected and condemned” the facts of the Negreira case.
Comunicado de la Comisión Delegada de LaLiga respecto al caso Negreira que afecta al F.C. Barcelona:
▫️Los clubes rechazan y repudian los hechos conocidos por el caso Negreira – FC Barcelona▫️.
👉 https://t.co/j6tgNAn74I pic.twitter.com/SxJJdMFd4r
— LaLiga Corporativo (@LaLigaCorp) February 21, 2023
14 clubs aligned themselves with this statement, including Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, but Real Madrid were interestingly absent from the list of those involved, despite the argument that they would have the most to gain if Barcelona were severely punished.
It remains to be seen if Barcelona will face punishment, although it has already been confirmed that they won’t be sanctioned in a sporting perspective.
