The investigation widens to include the president and every member of the board from the first term of the club, signaling a broadening inquiry into the organization’s earlier governance and financial practices.
Crews of concerns around FC Barcelona surface ten days before the Clasico against Real Madrid as Joan Laporta, the club’s president, faces bribery accusations connected to the ongoing Negreira case.
The development shakes Can Barça just over a week after the team hosted Real Madrid in what was billed as a pivotal match to start the season. The Negreira case judge has decided to extend Laporta’s investigative status, along with all board members from his initial term, for payments related to the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees, Enríquez Negreira, and his son.
The charges currently associated with this expanded inquiry include bribery, corruption in sports, persistent counts of dishonest administration, and the falsification of commercial documents. In addition, the same investigative status is attributed to the individuals initially named by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, including the Negreira family, former presidents Josep María Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and former directors Óscar Grau and Albert Soler.
Joaquín Aguirre, head of investigative court number 1 in Barcelona, has added Joan Laporta to the roster of suspects in this new order, even though the Public Prosecutor’s Office had not originally included him because the alleged crimes from his first term were thought to have expired. Judge Aguirre disagrees, arguing that the criminal consequences allow for indictments based on a continuing crime of bribery.
The magistrate emphasizes that the former vice president of the CTA held a broad sphere of influence, serving as second in command within that group. He notes that FC Barcelona’s payments appear to have served the club’s interests given their duration and annual growth. It is also inferred that these payments generated the biased effects the club sought, suggesting unequal treatment among teams and indicating potential systemic corruption within Spanish arbitration as a whole. However, the judge clarifies that this does not implicate all referees as corrupt; rather, a subset is implicated as part of a broader pattern.
Editors’ note: coverage reflects reporting from sports news outlets, with ongoing judicial proceedings illustrating how governance and match officiating are interwoven in high-profile football clubs.