FC Barcelona could face sanctions, including relegation from La Liga or a points deduction, after being accused of paying former Vice President of the Technical Committee of Referees José María Enríquez Negreira €1.4 million during former president Josep Bartomeu’s tenure. Negreira held his position at the Royal Spanish Football Federation from 1994 to 2018. According to the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office, the club paid the sum between 2016 and 2018 to a company owned by Negreira, DASNIL 95. The SER Catalunya radio program “Què t’hi jugues” reported that the former La Liga referee received $571,000 in 2016, $580,000 in 2017 and $341,000 in 2018 through DASNIL 95.
During testimony before the prosecutor’s office, Negreira and his son denied that Barcelona ever received preferential treatment in refereeing decisions. They claimed the payments were for advisory work on how players should interact with referees and for tips on what actions were permissible depending on the official overseeing a match. However, Negreira has reportedly been unable to produce any documentation proving that he provided such services to the club.
Barcelona responded with a statement acknowledging that it had hired an “external technical consultant” but denying any wrongdoing. The club said the consultant supplied video‑format technical reports on lower‑category players in Spain for its technical secretariat, and that the relationship was later extended to include reports on professional arbitration to support the coaching staff of the first team and the reserves—a common practice among professional clubs. Barcelona added that such outsourced services are now managed by a professional assigned to the Soccer Area. The club expressed regret that the news emerged while it leads La Liga by 11 points and pledged legal action against anyone who damages its reputation with insinuations arising from the information.
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