Major twist in Barcelona bribery case as new witness could be called

A major shift in the Negreira case could be on the verge of shaking things up, if a judge’s orders are followed. Barcelona are currently charged with bribery and sporting corruption for payments in excess of €7.5m over a period of 17 years to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. During that time Enriquez Negreira was Vice-President of the CTA, or Technical Committee of Referees.

The investigation is ongoing, as the authorities try to establish how much influence Negreira had over his colleagues, and gather evidence for a trial. Until now Negreira himself has been an x-factor in the case.

Originally he his testimony had been ruled out due to being declared unfit to testfiy, as a result of dementia. However Cadena Cope report that after a second medical examination, the court magistrate directing the investigation has declared that he believes that Negreira is in condition to testify. He has now been called to testify.

Until now, the only Barcelona and the presidents involved, together with the referees, could give primary accounts of what they saw and did. Yet if Negreira is able to go under oath, then it would lead to some tough questions for him to answer. Currently there is a lack of evidence showing the services rendered.