There is another scandal in Spanish football: Barcelona is accused of bribery and could receive severe punishment. We are even talking about the disappearance of a titled club, because the judiciary is involved in corruption fraud, which could influence the results for years.
How did Barcelona get into a corruption scandal?
Barcelona are reportedly being investigated for “active bribery” as part of an investigation into alleged corruption within the Spanish refereeing committee.
Police raided the offices of the Spanish Referee Committee (CTA) and the headquarters of the Football Federation (RFEF) in Madrid on Thursday, a Barcelona court said, as part of an ongoing investigation into “possible systemic corruption” at the CTA.
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According to investigators, the former deputy chairman of the technical committee of referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, received about €7.7 million from Barcelona from 2001 to 2018.
Negreira and his son Javier Henriques, as well as former Barcelona presidents Josep Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, are named as defendants in the case.
What threatens Barcelona?
The investigation is serious: bribing an official is considered a criminal offense, so we are even talking about imprisonment. Barcelona will also face serious punishment, because they could be sent to the second division, Spanish journalists believe.
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This has already happened with Juventus in Italy: the team was demoted to the lower division, but quickly returned to Serie A. But British journalists believe that Barcelona may cease to exist altogether:
“If found guilty, the criminals will receive between three and six years in prison. “Barcelona could be suspended from operating as a professional football club, which would likely force the 124-year-old club into bankruptcy,” writes The Telegraph.
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This is not the first scandal in Spanish football: it occurred against the backdrop of allegations of sexual abuse against the former head of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales.
Recall that on August 20, Rubiales kissed World Cup winner Jenny Hermoso on the lips, causing a furore that was largely eclipsed by the women’s team’s triumph in Sydney. Rubiales left his post, although he initially refused.