Ex-Barcelona President on Negreira case: “We’ve never bribed referees, nor did we try to” | OneFootball

Former Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has denied that the club ever tried to bribe or influence officials, as they are accused of in the infamous Negreira case. The Catalan side have been found to have paid the former Vice-President of the Referees Commiteee (CTA) €7-8m over a period of 17 years, and are defending their innnocence in court.

These accusations have been strenuously denied by Barcelona, and all four of the presidents that were in charge of the Blaugrana at the time. They stand accused of sporting corruption, and in recent months, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has upped the pressure in public, calling it the greatest scandal in footballing history, and urging UEFA to get involved.

Bartomeu: “We never tried to bribe referees”

After giving testimony in court last year, Bartomeu denied any wrongdoing, calling it a smear campaign. In a fresh interview with Sport, Bartomeu has again stood by his words.

“Barca never tried to bribe referees. I experienced this firsthand in 2014 as president, and as vice-president, I was aware of the existence of these reports. It has been proven. No referee has said that Barca bribed them or tried to bribe them. The reports and the videos made by Javier Enriquez [Negreira’s son and employee] are in court.”

“The service existed, and the documentation is there; you can debate whether it was more or less expensive, but it exists. The judge will have to decide. Barca members can rest assured because there was never any attempt to bribe a referee. It makes no sense. We had the best team.”

“Service was cancelled due to the costs”

It was under Bartomeu that their consultancy contract with one of the businesses owned by Negreira was ended, and a memo from the ex-Vice President of the CTA threatening him if he ended the service has been leaked into the public domain. He explained to the Catalan paper why he did so, and why he had been the most vociferous of the former Barcelona Presidents.

“Yes, I am the main defendant, as the case is beyond the statute of limitations for other presidents. I was president between 2014 and 2018. That year, the service was discontinued due to cost issues. I defended it for Barca, for its reputation. Real Madrid has sometimes requested much more information outside of this matter to understand the inner workings of the club – details of Barca’s assets, commercial, economic, and sporting management. I objected, and the judge ruled in my favour.”

The case, which first emerged in 2023, is currently in the trial phase, and is expected to rumble on for some time, with Bartomeu among the defendants and witnesses to have given evidence thus far.