The Catalan club responds with a harsh statement after the Andalusians refused to attend the directors’ dinner, citing the ‘Negreira case’.
FC Barcelona announced on Friday that it was severing its relationship with Sevilla. The Catalan club made this known through an official statement at the start of the match against Sevilla, for the eighth round of LaLiga, and after Sevilla announced that it would not go to the box of the Olímpic Lluís Companys stadium “out of respect for the competition and our fans”, in relation to the ‘Negreira case’.
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This is Barça’s full statement in response to Sevilla:
“FC Barcelona wishes to publicly demonstrate its rejection of an unjustified and inappropriate attack by Sevilla FC, a club that today refused to sit at the table during the institutional lunch between directors prior to tonight’s match between the two teams at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys , where their representatives also refused to attend the box of honor.
In addition to this contempt, the Andalusian club has sent a statement to the public expressing “indignation and rejection of the practices of former leaders of FC Barcelona accused of the “Negreira case” and announcing their absence from the box. Barcelona understands that this is an attack on the Catalan institution and an unacceptable offense.
The so-called ‘Negreira case’ cannot serve as an excuse for such actions, as the legal proceedings are at a very premature investigative stage and the positioning of Sevilla FC clearly anticipates facts that in no case, and in none of the preceding and hypothetical classifications, are accredited.
Furthermore, the court decision announced yesterday does not in any way alter the factual and legal situation of FC Barcelona in the proceedings; It is legally very questionable; It will not be a substantiated evidence activity and will be appropriately assessed by the Club.
Moreover, already months ago, the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, intervened in an extraordinary LaLiga meeting, expressly insisting on this matter, providing all kinds of explanations and clarifications on the matter. Moreover, Sevilla FC’s action is completely absurd as, on the one hand, it mentions the presumption of innocence and, on the other hand, it denies FC Barcelona its exercise in the legal proceedings that are currently underway.
“Faced with this intolerable and unjustified position of Sevilla FC, FC Barcelona considers all relations with the Sevillian institution to be broken as long as it does not correct its current position.”
Sevilla’s previous statement:
“Sevilla FC, after the Latest news and progress in the Negreira case and the new accusation of alleged bribery of FC Barcelona and some of its former leaders, out of respect for the competition and our fans, would like to communicate that:
-Show his total outrage and rejection of the practices of the former leaders of FC Barcelona accused in the Negreira case, practices that, according to the order published in the media, would constitute a crime before Investigative Court Number 1 of Barcelona.
-Rejects the behavior of the Barça club during the periods in which these crimes were allegedly committed.
-For this reason Sevilla FC has suspended the protocol actions related to next Friday’s LaLiga match September 29 between the Barça club and Sevilla FC, announcing the absence of representation in the Montjuic stadium box.
-Want to show it its deepest respect for Barcelona’s members and subscribers, as well as its current employees and leaders who work at FC Barcelona every day and are indirectly involved.
-Show his respect for Spanish justice, the presumption of innocence and for the decisions that could be made in any sense to the relevant courts, as well as to the corresponding sanctioning authorities.
-He hopes so for the sake of competition all responsibilities in the Negreira case have been cleared in accordance with the judge’s final considerations.
-Trust that events such as those that supposedly occurred will not be repeated “that the relevant federation bodies from now on ensure the cleanliness of all competitions, in which Sevilla FC also participated during the periods examined against FC Barcelona.”
Source: Goal
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.