Barcelona are set to be cleared of attempting to influence referees by UEFA, following an investigation brought on by the Negreira case.
According to Sport amongst others, Barcelona will not face a sanction from UEFA, a decision which was communicated to the club on Friday.
The investigation came off the back of documents found showing payments from Barcelona to former Vice-President of the Referees Committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, amounting to around €7m over 17 years. It is currently in the Spanish judicial system under the accusation of continuous corruption.
Barcelona have received the OK from UEFA and will be able to play next season's Champions League. @sport
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 30, 2023
UEFA charged two lawyers with investigating the information available, who after looking at the material available sent Barcelona a document with 70 questions to be answered on the matter.
Clearly those answers satisfied the investigators, as UEFA will not sanction Barcelona, nor ban them from the Champions League, which was the big fear for the club.
This will be an enormous relief to Barcelona, who not only could not afford the blow to the reputation, but also the blow to their finances. Without that money, the club would likely have been under pressure to sell one or two major players this summer.
Image via LLUIS GENE / AFP
So, a club that pays for referees is allowed in the champions league, capital gains is a big problem for UEFA even if it’s up to clubs to determine the value of players? Bizaar…
Is barca be ur problem at champions leaque
All thanks to everpotent Laporta, our outspoken fighting president!