Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez on Friday supported the Catalan club in the Negreira case. The former World Cup winner claimed the latest accusations for which the club is under investigation is being done to ‘destabilise’ the club.
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Joan Laporta, the president of Barça, was indicted on Wednesday for suspicions of corruption in the famous Negreira case.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been charged as part of the investigation into alleged bribes paid to referees. The club itself and two of its former presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as the former head of Spain’s referees body, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, and his son have already been charged.
Laporta has been charged in relation to his first spell as president of Barcelona from 2003 to 2010.
Negreira allegedly earned over seven million euros ($7.5 million) from Barcelona between 2001 and 2018, through companies supposedly producing refereeing reports for the club.
“The judge’s decision has no basis, and I do not agree,” Laporta had said in an interview on Catalan radio on Thursday.
“They were paid for services and we have presented 629 reports in 42 CDs,” he had added.
Xavi on Negreira case
Xavi was asked about Joan Laporta’s words on Thursday.
“Within the camp, we don’t talk about this. We talk about football. But you have to look at the archives: Villarato, doping… I’m with the president one hundred percent. There have always been campaigns to destabilise Barcelona. It’s a reality. It’s a reality,” Xavi said.
“They are stories to destabilise. There is too much talk about non-sporting issues. In my time, there was talk of doping and Villarato, these come from newspapers from Madrid, invented by them,” he said.
“They are stories to destabilise. There is too much talk about non-sporting issues. In my time, there was talk of doping and Villarato, these come from newspapers from Madrid, invented by them,” he added.