The public prosecutor has requested a judicial subpoena for former FC Barcelona coaches Luis Enrique Martínez and Ernesto Valverde to testify as witnesses in the ongoing Negreira case, according to a Monday report from El País. The request places both technicians on the list of witnesses who may be asked to explain whether, during their tenure as Barça’s first-team managers, they became aware of reports regarding referee conduct at matches played on the pitch.
The prosecutor’s aim in calling Luis Enrique and Valverde to testify is to clarify how much value the reports paid by Barcelona to Enrique Negreira actually had. When questioned about these reports, Valverde, who is currently the head coach of Athletic Bilbao, stated that he was not aware of their existence and did not know anything about them. He led Barça from 2017 to 2020, following Luis Enrique’s tenure from 2014 to 2017, and has not publicly commented further on the matter beyond those remarks.
It is important to note that the complaint filed by the Public Prosecutor is awaiting a ruling from the head of Investigation Court No. 1 in Barcelona, Joaquín Aguirre. The court will decide whether to admit the complaint brought by a VAR referee against Negreira and his son. If the judge accepts the referee’s statements, both Enrique and Valverde would be summoned to testify under oath, with a legal obligation to answer all questions presented by the parties involved in the complaint.