Gerard Lopez says he used Negreira referee reports | OneFootball

Former Barcelona coach Gerard Lopez says he used referee scouting reports linked to the Negreira case, which underpins the ongoing corruption investigation in Spanish football.

“Negreira is a historic mistake for Barca, but to say that referees were bought… I was in the reserve team and I received referee reports from Negreira’s son, which were extremely useful to me,” he told Onda Cero.

Barcelona are accused of sporting corruption after payments of €7-8m across 17 years to companies tied to former referees’ committee vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. The club have denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutors argue the consultancy and reports did not match the fees, and Barcelona could not produce documents for the full 17 years, citing routine destruction every five years.

Former managers Ernesto Valverde and Luis Enrique have testified that they did not see or use referee reports and were not offered them.

Ex-presidents Joan Gaspart, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, plus incumbent Joan Laporta, have also given evidence denying any sporting benefit from dealings with Negreira.

Negreira’s son, Javier Enriquez Romero, who helped compile the material, has said the payments were not just for the reports, without clarifying further.

Source: Football Espana