Idman.biz
La Liga President Javier Tebas has stated that Barcelona did not bribe referees as they were accused of in the "Negreira case."
Idman.Biz reports that in 2023, "blaugrana" was accused of bribing José María Negreira, the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), who worked at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). Barcelona was accused of making payments of approximately 8.4 million euros between 2001 and 2018.
"We live in a state governed by the rule of law, and that's how the rules are. We [La Liga] were the first to go to the prosecutor's office [regarding the Negreira case], not Real Madrid. We continue to comply with the law. Sports legislation provides for a three-year period. I have advocated for a longer term for such crimes. However, it is also clear that Barcelona did not pay the referees money, at least that's how the story looks," - Sport.es quotes Tebas.
According to the Catalan club, Negreira was hired as an external consultant to prepare technical reports related to refereeing. The former CTA vice president denies receiving bribes to influence referees.
