LaLiga president Javier Tebas has claimed that Barcelona manager Joan Laporta should resign if he cannot offer a valid explanation on corruption and referee payments. The Spanish club has come under fire for paying off a former vice-president of the country’s Referees Committee. José María Enríquez Negreira, who was previously also a LaLiga referee, has reportedly received more than $8.5 million from Barça since 2003.
“If you don’t explain what they were paying for, I think you should resign,” Tebas told reporters on Monday.
“He has not offered a reasonable explanation for these payments. In the Barça statement, it was as if all football clubs did the same. Obviously not. It’s one thing to have ex-referees [offering advice]; another is to have ex-referees who are on the arbitration committee.”
“[Laporta] It will be necessary to explain why, in his first stage as president, he did this. It is something that I would like to clarify. It’s not just the three seasons. [being investigated by tax office]there are many more.”
Club claim payments are common practice among top teams
Barça has insisted that these payments were for “technical reports” on the referees in Spain. They also suggested that these types of deals are “common practice” and many other clubs pay for similar reports. However, former Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu recently stated that Negreira tried to extort money from the club when the payments stopped. The referee threatened to expose his financial relationship with the team to league offices.
The president of Barcelona accuses the president of LaLiga of being obsessed with corruption
The current Barça coach, Joan Laporta, has responded to Tebas’ comments about his possible resignation. The president of the club assured that Tebas is obsessed with Barça. “Mr. Tebas has once again stood out,” Laporta said on Tuesday. “We had been warned that he is promoting a campaign against Barça and against me as a person… now he has taken off his mask.”
“His obsession with Barça continues. I want to remind you that he is someone who has shown throughout his career that he is anti-Barcelona. In 2005 he did not want Messi to play for Barça and he fought [his registration]For example.”
“He has not forgiven us for not signing the agreement with CVC, when we signed much better agreements for the club. It doesn’t support the Super League either.”
“Mr. Tebas has now said that he should resign. His intention is to control Barça from afar. He is always trying to destabilize us. What do I tell him? I won’t give him the pleasure. Barcelona is owned by the partners”.
Barça will not face any significant sporting sanctions from LaLiga for the payments. The sports prescription within Spain is currently only three years and the payments go back at least five years.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Brand
