The Negreira case has taken a new turn after Spanish lawyer Juan Luis Martín de Pozuelo lodged a formal complaint against FC Barcelona with the Ethics Committee of the Spanish Football Federation’s Integrity and Compliance Department, in a move aimed at broadening the scope of the investigations to include disciplinary and ethical frameworks within local and international football organisations.
The complaint, dated 1 April, contains direct accusations against the Catalan club and a number of its current and former officials, and asserts that the facts relating to payments received by former vice-chairman of the Referees’ Committee José María Enríquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018 are no longer merely a media controversy but have become, according to the document, proven facts based on conclusive and documented evidence before the courts.
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In his complaint, Bozuelo points out that the case does not concern only the club’s liability as an institution, but extends to prominent figures who held the presidency of Barcelona during various periods, including Josep Maria Bartomeu, Sandro Rosell, Joan Laporta and Joan Gaspart, arguing that they all bear direct or indirect responsibility for the controversial payment scheme.
The lawyer focuses on the financial aspect of the case, explaining that the sums transferred to Negreira and companies linked to his family amounted to approximately €8,388,476.90, of which €7,376,916.90 went to commercial entities affiliated with him.
Bozoilo believes that these figures reveal a dual payment system, both direct and indirect, which, in his view, warrants severe disciplinary sanctions against the parties involved.
The complaint also addressed the issue of the arbitration reports used by Barcelona to justify those payments, arguing that this defence is no longer convincing in light of the findings of the judicial investigations. Bozuelo emphasised that statements made by the current club president, Joan Laporta, regarding the legitimacy of those reports could place him under moral scrutiny before the relevant authorities.
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The complaint is also based on the judicial decision issued on 9 October 2023 by Barcelona Investigating Court No. 1, which ruled that the case should proceed, as well as on the role played by the Royal Spanish Football Federation as a party to the proceedings.
Bozuelo believes that if the Federation is considered an aggrieved party in the criminal proceedings, it must also take action within the ethical and disciplinary framework, rather than limiting itself to the judicial process.
The Spanish lawyer intends to forward the same documents to both the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), in an attempt to internationalise the case and bring it under the scrutiny of the highest football authorities, arguing that what has occurred “undermines the integrity of the game and the reputation of Spanish football”.
This move thus opens a new chapter in one of the most controversial cases in the history of Spanish football, whilst the Spanish Football Federation is expected to decide whether the facts set out in the complaint warrant further action that could reignite the controversy surrounding Barcelona’s relationship with the Referees’ Committee over the past two decades.
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