Spanish soccer giants Barcelona have reportedly been granted approval by European governing body UEFA to compete in the top-tier men's Champions League for the 2023-24 season despite an investigation into alleged payments to companies owned by a senior refereeing official.
Barcelona’s participation in the competition was put in doubt when an official complaint was filed in March alleging that between 2001 and 2018 the club paid €7.3 million ($7.8 million) to two firms run by Jose Maria Enrique Negreira, who from 1993 to 2017 was president of the Spanish soccer federation’s (RFEF) refereeing committee.
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Spain’s public prosecutor’s office filed a complaint claiming that, through a secret agreement, Negreira acted in favor of Barcelona through “the decisions taken by referees … as well as in the results of the competitions.”
However, according to the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, UEFA has now ended months of speculation by informing Barcelona of their right to play in the competition for the upcoming season.
The report said UEFA did not find enough evidence of wrongdoing during its own investigation, led by the UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee, that could lead to sanctions.
Investigations by the Spanish public prosecutor’s office are still ongoing, however.
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By GlobalDataThe issue first came to light through a report by the SER Catalunya broadcaster, followed by the El Pais newspaper.
El Pais had claimed that the company run by Negreira, called Dasnil 95 SL, produced both written reports and DVDs on the characteristics of various referees before they took charge of Barcelona games.
The complaint focuses on €2.9 million allegedly paid between 2014 and 2018. It has not yet been decided whether a judge will take on the case, however.
According to El Pais, Negreira told the Spanish tax agency that the intention of Barcelona when making the payments was to have “neutral” referees in their games.
The prosecutors’ complaint accused the Catalan club, as well as former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, two other former executives, and Negreira, of reaching a “confidential verbal agreement” constituting corruption in sports, unfair administration, and falsehood in mercantile documents.
At the time of the initial report, the Catalan giants denied wrongdoing and said the money was for an external consultant who provided the club with “technical reports related to professional refereeing,” adding that this was “a common practice among professional soccer clubs.”
It has been reported that when prosecutors asked Barcelona for the evidence of the aforementioned reports, either through documents or DVDs, these were not made available.
Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid also waded into the issue, formally joining the complaint.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have that announced Prime, the energy drinks brand co-founded by internet personalities-turned-boxers KSI and Logan Paul, will replace sports beverage brand Gatorade as their new hydration partner.
The three-year deal will see Prime’s products gain visibility in the bench area during games, in the team's dressing rooms, and during training sessions involving the men’s, women’s, and youth sides.
The announcement came after the club confirmed it had not renewed its partnership with Gatorade following the expiration of their contract.
Prime is the official sports drink of the mixed-martial arts promotion UFC and is also a sponsor of the English Premier League side Arsenal.
Juli Guiu, Barcelona’s vice president of marketing, said: “We are very proud to sign this sponsorship agreement with Prime, a brand with major international projection and which is the result of the passion and dedication of its promoters, Logan Paul and KSI.
“This is also a strategic deal for the club that will help connect with younger audiences around the world, who are big fans of an innovative product that encourages rehydration and means people can enjoy doing sport even more.”
Image: Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
