Explained: What is the ‘Referee Payments Scandal’ which has gripped FC Barcelona?

La Liga president Javier Tebas has called for the resignation of Barcelona president Joan Laporta if the club cannot explain its part in an alleged financial scandal. The La Liga giants have been accused of making payments of over €1.4 million to a company owned by,  Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA). Negreira held his role from 1994 to 2018 and reportedly received payments from Barcelona, from 2016 to 2018.

The Catalans are said to have paid the money to the company named DASNIL 95. While the Catalans denied all wrongdoings, La Liga chief Tebas was quoted as saying by SPORT, that Laporta should resign if the club cannot explain the 33 payments made to Negreira. “If [Laporta] doesn't explain why it was paid, I think [he would have to resign]," Tebas said.

This comes weeks after Juventus were penalized by the Italian Soccer Federation after financial irregularities by the club were exposed. As many as 23 players and then head coach Maurizio Sarri agreed for a pay cut, for a four-month period at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The move was aimed at helping the club amid the crisis. However, reports claim that the players gave up only one month’s salary. 

“Indications as more serious in Barca”

Meanwhile, speaking about the scandal involving Barcelona, Tebas noted that it might be bigger than the one involving the Italian club. “For now I would say that Juventus is more serious for being sentenced, but I see the indications as more serious in Barca. A vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees appears here," Tebas added.

As per Forbes, Barca opened up on the matter and said they hired services  "of an external technical consultant in the past, who supplied, in video format, technical reports referring to lower-category players in Spain for the Club's technical secretariat."

"Additionally, the relationship with the external provider itself was extended with technical reports related to professional arbitration in order to complement the information required by the coaching staff of the first team and the reserves, a common practice in professional football clubs," the statement further read.