An exciting development and escalation in the events of the Negrera case, where Joaquín Aguirre, President of the Investigative Court No. 1 in the city of Barcelona, explicitly accused FC Barcelona of offering bribes to José María Enriquez Negrera, former Vice-Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Spanish Football Federation.
Aguirre believes that the €7.5 million paid by Barcelona to Negrira, former vice-president of the technical committee of referees for 17 years, constitutes a crime.
In addition to Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, former presidents of the Catalan club, and Jose Maria Enriquez Negrera and his sons were accused of offering and receiving bribes.
The penalties that FC Barcelona may face if the accusations are proven
Penalties that FC Barcelona may face if the accusations are proven: – Relegation – Exclusion from the Champions League – Imprisonment of the accused persons.
According to the rulings of the Supreme Court of Spain: “Any person who, under the direct provisions of the law, or by election or appointment of a competent authority, participates in the exercise of public functions is considered a public employee.”
As the El Confidencial newspaper explained, this is considered a type of criminal crime that does not require proof of fraud by certain parties, and is punishable by more serious penalties than the crime of corruption between individuals attributed so far.
According to the report, bribery carries more serious penalties than the corruption crime that has been investigated with Barcelona so far, and charges have already been brought against the club, but no arrests are expected, according to police sources.
If it is proven that someone from the club asked for money or some compensation for an unfair decision, then this is already a bribe, and in this case it has already been proven that the club transferred more than seven million to Negrera’s account and his son’s account in exchange for a series of unjustified favors.
