Earlier in the year, Barcelona were cleared of allegations of wrongdoing in the Negreira case, as no evidence was found by the courts proving that the club had paid money to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Negreira was a former referee and vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees and there were allegations Barcelona had supposedly paid him to influence match outcomes.
But courts exonerated Joan Laporta and Co of criminal charges as they found no conclusive evidence regarding the same.
Tebas brings up Negreira case, again
Despite this, La Liga president Javier Tebas reignited the controversy, stating that Barcelona should still be sanctioned, even though no proof of corruption has been established.
In a recent interview (h/t AS), Tebas claimed that while the case may not prove Barcelona bribed referees, there is still a case of sporting corruption.
“At a sporting level, it has expired. Following the information, we are leading the matter in the Prosecutor’s Office. We believe that it must be clarified as much as possible. We are represented. We have presented certain documents for the investigation,” he said.
“In this case, it has not been proven that referees were paid and I do not believe it will be proven either,” he added.
He alleged that Barcelona had paid Negreira for the possibility of influencing referee promotions and relegations rather than direct match manipulation.
“Barcelona paid Negreira because he sold them that he could influence the promotions and relegations of referees. That is sporting corruption, but not at the level of the buying referees,” he said.
He went on to call for Barcelona’s sanction, even though he admitted himself that these allegations will never be proven.
“It will not be proven. It will not reach any referee. What was done was wrong. I think Barcelona will be sanctioned, but not at the level of the story that is being built from Madrid,” he said.
“There is nothing else. I think it will take a long time. There will have to be a trial. I do not think it will come out that Negreira paid money to referees,” he added.
One can be easily forgiven for thinking that Tebas’ recent tirade on the Negreira case is yet another episode in his longstanding issue with Barcelona, especially given his past criticisms of the club.