Barcelona referee investigation explained: Details of the case, the club’s response, and possible punishments

Just when it looked like Barcelona had turned things around under new management and worked their way back in the hunt for Spain’s La Liga title, the club are now embroiled in a corruption investigation.

The main focus of prosecutors is a company called DASNIL 95 SL, which happens to be a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former referee and key member of Spain’s Referee Technical Committee.

The Sporting News explain the details of the case, Barcelona’s alleged involvement, the club’s reaction and the potential sanctions the Blaugrana could face if they are found guilty of any wrongdoing at any point.

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What is the Barcelona referee inquiry about?

Spanish newspaper Cadena Ser published a bombastic article on February 15 with a headline summarizing the story: “Prosecutors are investigating the company of a former vice-president of arbitrators who received payments from Barcelona while acting as an advisor [as referee administrator].”

The report details the investigation that targeted DASNIL 95 SL and Barcelona’s €1.4 million payments between 2016 and 2018.

Despite being involved in the case, Barcelona have not been charged. At least for now.

What services did Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira provide to Barcelona? According to a statement from the man himself, his job consisted of “orally advising” the club by explaining to the players how they should behave towards any referee in charge of their matches.

This type of work would not normally arouse suspicion, apart from the fact that Enriquez Negreira was also Vice-President of the Technical Committee for Referees of the Spanish Football Federation (known as CTA for its official Spanish) at the time he received these payments. title Comite Tecnico de Arbitros).

Enriquez Negreira denies doing anything illegal to help Barcelona.

Barcelona, ​​who were led by then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu during the aforementioned 2016-2018 period, say the practice of receiving these types of referee reports had existed since at least 2003 and that it was discontinued at one point due to cost concerns.

Barcelona referee investigation statement

The club quickly issued an official statement defending themselves without denying that they had received Enriquez Negreira’s advisory services.

“FC Barcelona regrets that this information has emerged during the best sporting moment of the current season,” read a translation of the statement.

Barcelona made it clear that the club “has in the past used the services of an external consultant who has provided club staff with technical reports on players from Spain’s lower divisions via video”.

The club added that “the relationship with the external provider has been expanded to include technical reports in relation to professional referees to complement the information requested by the first-team and reserve-team coaching staff. This is a common practice by professional football clubs.”

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Statement of the Technical Committee for Referees of Spain (CTA)

“The CTA would like to clarify that Mr. Enriquez Negreira has not been a member of any federal agency since the change of government following the 2018 elections,” read a statement from Spain’s Referee Technical Committee.

“The CTA remains at the disposal of the judicial authorities to offer its maximum cooperation for any type of information that this committee can provide.”

At the same time, the organization added that “no arbitrator or member of any of the bodies of the CTA may undertake any work that is susceptible to a conflict of interest.”

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What penalty could Barcelona face in case of misconduct?

For Barcelona to be sanctioned, the club would have to be investigated first. Enriquez Negreira’s company is now the focus of the investigations.

Should Barcelona be implicated and found guilty of receiving referee favors or paying bribes, the club could face severe penalties.

Italian team Juventus were embroiled in a refereeing scandal and were punished with relegation to the second division in 2006. In addition, the club were stripped of the titles won in the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons.