UEFA shocked European football last week when they handed out a season-long ban to Osasuna for match-fixing for incidents that had occurred in 2013 and 2014.
Many asked how it could be that Los Rojillo could be punished so harshly with the loss of their first European campaign in 17 years, while Barcelona, accused of corruption in the Spanish court system, are still without a verdict on their matter.
MD say that UEFA are currently studying the responses given to them by Barcelona, after they sent the Blaugrana a questionnaire consisting of 70 questions on the Negreira Case.
In addition, Barcelona’s case still has not been resolved in the Spanish legal system, which further complicates matters. Barcelona deny any attempt to influence matches or referees, and there is yet to be any proof that they have done so, whereas Osasuna’s case was resolved in January.
Yet the Catalan daily say that it is unlikely to be long before UEFA do hand out their verdict. As with Osasuna, they will have the chance to appeal the decision, and then appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport too.
Osasuna’s statement on the matter, that UEFA were ‘strong with the weak, and weak with the strong’, seemed a fairly pointed message that the likes of Juventus and Barcelona, although different cases entirely, are being handled with care, whereas as their case swiftly resulted in a ban.
