Barcelona Referee Scandal: La Liga: In the latest press conference, FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta defended the club’s controversial payment to former referee chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira as he denied any wrongdoing on Barcelona’s part. In the 35 minutes speech on the Negreira case, the Barca president called the allegations a ‘smear campaign’ against the club, moreover, he slammed La Liga President Javier Tebas and Real Madrid, as the press conference has been dominating the headlines in European football today. Follow La Liga LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN
In the lengthy presentation, Laporta reaffirmed the stance stating Barcelona have always maintained their innocence, insisting the payments between 2002 to 2018 were of nothing more than advice from referees and not to sway any decisions made by officials.
‘Barcelona have never undertaken any operation with any intention or objective to influence the sporting outcome.’
‘The Public Prosecutor has been unable to demonstrate this at any point,’ Laporta began.
“Barcelona have never undertaken any operation with any intention or objective to influence the sporting outcome.”
“The Public Prosecutor has been unable to demonstrate this at any point.”
– Joan Laporta #CasoNegreira pic.twitter.com/f6lpZnTqLS
— Football España (@footballespana_) April 17, 2023
‘Barcelona have contracted out technical and refereeing consultancy, which in of itself is not an issue.’
‘This is something many big clubs do and is important.’ ‘We made these payments with invoices, bank payments, and for specific activities.’
Moreover, Laporta hinted the club is a victim of a ‘smear campaign’ stating,
‘During the two months, the club has suffered a tremendous smear campaign. The information and conclusions have nothing to with reality. Barcelona has been a model of fair play. We are proud to have contributed to sport.’
‘When this controversy arose, I immediately said that I saw clearly that it was an orchestrated campaign against Barcelona. We commissioned an internal investigation that was commissioned to an external firm to carry out an investigation. I’m going to start with this resounding statement: Barcelona has never carried out any action that had, as it’s final objective or the intention, of alternating the competition to get an advantage.’
Moreover, La Liga President Javier Tebas and Real Madrid came under fire in the press conference, as Laporta deemed the head of La Liga ‘responsible’.
Javier Tebas has to remember that he is representing La Liga, not himself. He has blatantly lied with his statements, Laporta said.
Also pointed out saying Tebas has been irresponsible and his public statement could only hurt La Liga more, ‘I want to point out that Javier Tebas has been very irresponsible, unwise, and blatantly unaccountable. I urge him to stop spreading his theories, which reached the point of him sending false evidence. His irresponsibility only hurts La Liga.’
He also criticised Real Madrid and was angered by the club’s position and insisted that if one club gained took advantage of referring decisions in the past was ‘Los Blancos’.
‘I want to refer to the presence of a club, on its own, as a private accusation in the trial. A club that says it feels harmed. A club that has always been favoured by refereeing decisions. It has been considered the team of the regime. Because of their proximity to political and economic power. I think it is worth remembering that for seven decades, most of the presidents of the CTA have been ex-members, ex-players or ex-directors of Real Madrid. For 70 years, the people who appointed those who had to deliver justice on the pitch, they were ex-partners, ex-players or ex-directors of Real Madrid. In some cases, all this at the same time.’ Laporta added.
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