If Barcelona president Joan Laporta cannot explain payments made to DASNIL 95, La Liga president Javier Tebas wants him to step down.
What is the Negreira case?
The Negreira case, at least for now, concerns Barcelona paying for their players to receive advice on interacting with specific referees.
According to allegations, Barcelona paid Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira between 2016 and 2018 to instruct their players on interacting with each referee to increase their chances of receiving favorable treatment.
The shocking part is that at the time, Negreira was also the vice-president of the Referee Technical Committee, or CTA, of the Spanish Football Federation, even though it initially appeared to be more about referee manipulation than bribery.
This has undoubtedly raised new questions about the case because it indicates that one of the clubs directly employed a significant La Liga referee.
Whenever Barcelona played a La Liga or Cup del Rey match, DASNIL 95 SL (Negreira’s company) allegedly handed an envelope to the club’s office.
The package featured a written report and a DVD with a video analysis and profile describing the prospective referee’s behavior on the field.
According to Negreira, he was compensated for providing “technical guidance to ensure that no contentious refereeing decisions went against Barcelona. He costs about €1.4 million overall and €500,000 per season.
It is important to note that Negreira denies that there was ‘an envelope’ and instead says his technical advice was all verbal – a claim his son denies.
Tebas calls for Laporta’s resignation
If Barcelona president Joan Laporta cannot explain payments made to DASNIL 95, La Liga president Javier Tebas wants him to step down.
Tebas told Sport, “I think he would have to quit if [Laporta] doesn’t explain why it was paid.”
“At this time, I would say that the situation with Juventus is bad, but I think that Barca’s signs are more dire.”
“This is a Technical Committee of Referees vice-president.”
Blaugrana is no longer subject to punishment from La Liga, as the incident happened more than three years ago. Yet, no statute of limitations would bar UEFA.
❗️Javier Tebas: "If Laporta does not explain the 'Negreira case,' he should resign." pic.twitter.com/O0sM9zLSsy
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 20, 2023
14 La Liga clubs issues statement over El Caso Negreira
Real Madrid and Valencia chose to disassociate themselves from the unified statement that La Liga made outlining their worries.
The following was the text of the statement: “The Delegated Commission of La Liga met today (consisting of Atletico de Madrid, Levante UD, Sevilla FC, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Cadiz CF, Getafe CF, Villarreal CF, CD Tenerife, Deportivo Alaves, SD Eibar, UD Las Palmas, CD Lugo, and SD Huesca) and after taking stock of everything that occurred.”
“La Liga has disclosed to all of the members of the Delegate Commission the various actions that it has undertaken and is undertaking, including a letter to the Prosecutor’s Office as announced yesterday by the president.”
“Communications with the data and information that La Liga considers pertinent to various organizations, Spanish and European, and more actions that, at this time, La Liga believes should not make public to avoid jeopardizing the investigation.”
