‘Maybe Real Madrid didn’t need to hire anyone’ – Joan Laporta on Negreira case and Superleague exit | OneFootball

Ex-Barcelona President Joan Laporta has accused Real Madrid of influencing the Referees Committee (CTA) for 72 years while responding to questions on the Negreira case. Barcelona are currently accused of sporting corruption by the Spanish public prosecutor, after payments of €7-8m were discovered to companies connected to former CTA Vice-President Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira over a period of 17 years. The club have defended their innocence.

Laporta is up for re-election on Sunday, with Victor Font his main rival. On Cadena Cope, Laporta responded to accusations made by Xavi Hernandez about Lionel Messi’s failed return and the role of ex-brother-in-law Alejandro Echevarria at the club. Another topic brought up was the Negreira case.

“We have advisors. The vice-president of the referees’ committee had no relevant role. The company did much more, and it was run by his son. Those were different times. Don’t you think it’s shameful that for 72 years the committee was run by Real Madrid members? All members. Isn’t that shameful? It was referee advice, not sports corruption. But you never ask them questions about that, stop playing with me.”

‘What Barca did was done very well’ – Laporta

Laporta was also asked about a slogan of his, ‘against it all and against everyone’. He again pointed to Real Madrid’s own links to the CTA.

“Against all odds and against everyone is an expression to illustrate what has been happening to us at Barca for years. The club was dominated, subjugated. It was under intervention; they were allowed to do certain things with the intention of reaching this point. The exorbitant contracts weren’t subject to any economic oversight.”

“We were up against a smear campaign orchestrated from Madrid regarding the Negreira case. What Barca did was legal, it was done very well. At that time, they were paying a company – we’ve already come across it – that produced referee reports to analyse the referees’ performance. I’m sure Real Madrid did the same. Now Real Madrid has Megia Davila, the wife of the Referees’ Committee.”

“Doesn’t that seem disgraceful to you? It seems perfectly normal to you. Maybe they didn’t need to hire refereeing experts because they were already doing it, even better. Didn’t you realise that in Madrid or what? Is what Barca does disgraceful? Wasn’t what Madrid did disgraceful?”

‘I warned Florentino about Superleague exit’

Since Barcelona distanced themselves from the Superleague, a project instigated by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, there has been a clearer desire to see Barcelona punished for the Negreira case. Laporta has said that Perez was warned about their exit from the competition.

“When Real Madrid is in a slump, some decision always seems to come along that helps them. I hope I can put that idea out of my head. Real Madrid’s television coverage doesn’t reflect the reality of today. Florentino and I didn’t discuss this issue, only the Super League. We agreed on a project that could have been good for European football. We were fighting against state-owned clubs. I warned Florentino that I was going to make peace. I met with Florentino and told him that the project wasn’t working, that we needed to reach an agreement with UEFA. He agreed.”

“Then I found out that some emissaries from Real Madrid went to UEFA saying that what we had agreed with Barca didn’t apply to them. We continued with the Super League procedure to avoid penalties. It seems that Real Madrid also went down that road, and that’s a story that has ended this way. During the Super League, the relationship with Florentino was different. Florentino helped ensure that the fund linked to the Super League was interested in the lever operation.”

“I was trying to save Barcelona, and the Superleague was supposed to bring in €200m. When we began to see that those €200m were not arriving, we decided to leave.”

Barcelona announced their exit from the Superleague earlier this season, and this year it was announced that Real Madrid had reached an agreement in principle to end the competition altogether.

Barcelona’s sponsorship deal with DR Congo

Barcelona have also been criticised for signing a sponsorship deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo tourism board, which brings in €11m per season. This is despite widespread reports of human rights abuses in the country. Laporta was asked about working with them.

“The Congo project comes in the context of a peace treaty between Congo and Rwanda. We’re being paid €44m; it’s a very good agreement. We’re focusing on compliance first. Through the Foundation, we’re looking for safe spaces to help young people and prevent them from ending up in the mines.”