Barcelona at risk of relegation after allegations of $1.5 mn referee payment: Report

FC Barcelona has reportedly been accused of paying 1.4 million Euros to a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira who was the Vice President of the Technical Committee for Referees from 1994 to 2018. The Catalan giant could face severe punishment if the allegations levelled against them are proven to be true. They could be facing a possible relegation from La Liga or a hefty docking of points could be on the cards.

FC Barcelona accused of paying company of a former La Liga referee

Negreira was working as the vice president for 14 long years and his company is also the subject of an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office regarding a corruption case as the authorities explained there was a lack of documentation in his service towards the Spanish club in the past.

Barcelona immediately responded with a detailed statement denying the allegations made against the club.

Comunicado del FC Barcelona sobre la información emitida hoy en el programa 'Què t’hi jugues' de Ser Catalunya

👉 https://t.co/LJOzi0AsNB pic.twitter.com/UThBWf01mi

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) February 15, 2023

"In response to information broadcast today on the Què t’hi jugues show on radio station Ser Catalunya, FC Barcelona, which is aware of the investigations into payments of external companies, wishes to make the following points clear:

That in the past FC Barcelona hired the services of an external consultant that supplied the club's technical secretaries with reports in video format of youth players from other clubs in Spain.

Additionally, the relationship with that supplier extended to technical reports related to professional refereeing in order to complement the information requested by the first and second team coaching staff. This a common practice among professional football clubs.

These kinds of outsourced services are now the duty of a professional who works for the Football Department.

FC Barcelona is sorry that this information has been released precisely when the team has hit its best form of the season.

FC Barcelona shall be taking legal actions against those who are trying to tarnish the club's image with possible insinuations against its good reputation that could be caused by the release of such information."