UEFA launches investigation into Barcelona's bribery of referees

2023-03-24 08:58

UEFA launches investigation into Barcelona's bribery of referees

Earlier , Barcelona was filed and prosecuted by Spanish prosecutors for buying referees, and now UEFA is also investigating this matter.


UEFA issued a statement, which read: "The Ethics and Disciplinary Procuratorate has been appointed to investigate Barcelona's alleged violation of UEFA's laws and regulations."


Between 2001 and 2018, Barcelona's former president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell paid Negrera, the former vice-president of Spain's football referees committee, 7.3 million, court documents show. EUR.


As a result, Spanish prosecutors charged Sporting Barcelona with corruption, fraudulent management and falsified commercial documents, with the investigating judge to decide whether to prosecute. The reason no charges have been filed so far is that there is no evidence that the referee's judgment during the game was affected by this payment.


UEFA launches investigation into Barcelona's bribery of referees

Barcelona has also always denied that this payment is to buy the referee, saying that they spent money to buy the referee's technical reports and suggestions, and did not intend to influence the referee's decision in the game.


Now Barcelona are 12 points ahead of La Liga , sitting firmly at the top of the leaderboard, and it is almost certain that Barcelona will qualify for the Champions League next season. If it is found that there is evidence that Barcelona bought referees, UEFA will ban Barcelona and file disciplinary proceedings.


Regarding this matter, the president of La Liga believes that Barcelona can get through it with peace of mind, because whether it is the legal mechanism of the Spanish government, European football or international football, such cases only have a 5-year retrospective period. However, this case is an incident that happened before 2018, and that has basically passed the 5-year retrospective period, so Barcelona should be safe and sound. But this is only an estimate. In fact, it is still unknown what punishment Barcelona will face.