Barcelona Champions League: Spanish prosecutors have charged FC Barcelona with corrupt practices. But that’s bad news not just for Spanish clubs but for Barcelona as well. The club was allegedly involved in illegal financial activities, as payments made to a former refereeing chief’s company by two former club presidents’ names made headlines. The allegations against Barcelona are set to seriously jeopardize the club’s chances of featuring in the Champions League next season. Follow UEFA Champions League Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
FC Barcelona are charged by the Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office with ‘continued corruption between individuals in the sports field’, moreover other charges in relation to an alleged payment scandal that has rocked Spanish football.
Barcelona Champions League: Spanish Giants set to be left out of UCL after reputational damage to UEFA’s premier competition, CHECK Details
In a written complaint from Barcelona’s Prosecutor’s Office, former Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu besides top-level officials have been charged. Former club CEO Oscar Grau, Albert Soler and Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former leading refereeing official in Spain have also been charged.
All the accused are charged with ‘the crime of continued false administration and the crime falsification of commercial documents.’
The club now face the fear of being axed from the next season’s Champions League by the UEFA. There is a ‘growing fear’ of potential sanction of being thrown off the premier European club competition. The reason is UEFA’s clause in its constutution.
UEFA can punish a club ‘if an activity has been committed to organize or influence the result of a match at a national or international level.” UEFA may sanction ‘effective only for one football season.’
In a Catalan radio program, it was revealed that the club made $1.5 million payment through Negreira’s company. Moreover, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports, the payments totalled almost €7 million ($7.5 million) from 2001 to 2018. It also includes president Joan Laporta’s first reign from 2003 to 2010.
Barcelona Champions League: Spanish Giants set to be left out of UCL after reputational damage to UEFA’s premier competition, CHECK Details
Meanwhile, Barcelona denies all the allegations of wrongdoings and Laporta says that each payment can be proven as honest by ‘invoices and documentary and video support’ for consultation services carried out by Negreira.
The filing of the lawsuit by the Public Prosecutor indicates suggesting UEFA could be in a position to consider that the reputation of the Champions League and the presence of the Blaugrana club in the next season would hinder the competition’s image.
La Liga president Javier Tebas seems to have slight sympathy for the Catalan club, stating, ‘respect the investigation that the Prosecutor’s Office is going to do’. and added, ‘However, it is not possible that [FC Barcelona can be punished], since between 2018 and 2023 five years have passed and this type of sanction expires after three years’.
Barcelona Champions League: Spanish Giants set to be left out of UCL after reputational damage to UEFA’s premier competition, CHECK Details
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