La Liga president Javier Tebas has confirmed that FC Barcelona will not be sanctioned by the league over the alleged payments to former Vice President of the Referees’ Committee, Enriquez Negreira.
Reports emerged yesterday from SER Catalunya which claimed Barça had made payments worth around €1.4m to Negreira, who received the payment through a company owned by DASNIL 95 SL in exchange for ‘consultancy’ services.
The club quickly pushed back allegations of wrongdoing, saying the payments were made for consultancy services and technical reports on minor league players and professional referees.
As news spreads like wildfire, rumors of a ban, points deductions and what not have started doing the rounds.
However, Tebas has now clarified that Barcelona will not be sanctioned by La Liga in the matter as the matter is time-barred.
“It is impossible for there to be sporting sanctions, the statute of limitations would have expired,” La Liga’s president said in a statement.
Given that the Barcelona judiciary is investigating the matter as a possible case of corruption, Tebas did not rule out further proceedings by public prosecutors.
“Another thing is a criminal proceeding or a corruption offense between private individuals. We have to wait for the prosecutor’s office. If there is a complaint, we will have to show up. From an ethical and aesthetic point of view, this cannot happen in Spanish football,” he added.
