Aleksander Ceferin: «The ‘Negreira case’ is one of the most serious I have ever seen in soccer».
The president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, said Monday that the ‘Negreira case’, which involves FC Barcelona for payments to the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) José María Enríquez Negreira, is «the most serious» that the leader has seen in soccer, and recalled that for the bodies «nothing is time-barred».
The situation is extremely serious
«I cannot comment directly on this for two reasons. First, because we have an independent disciplinary committee. And secondly, because I have not dealt with this matter in detail. However, I can say that I have informed myself and the situation is extremely serious. In my opinion, one of the most serious in soccer that I have ever seen,» Ceferin assessed in an interview with Slovenian media Ekipa SN.
For UEFA «there is no statute of limitations».
The head of the European body acknowledged that the matter «is prescribed» at the LaLiga level, so «it cannot have competitive consequences» at the domestic level. However, Ceferin recalled that the ‘Negreira case’ could have negative effects for FC Barcelona at the sporting level, since for UEFA «there is nothing prescribed».
More than 7 million euros paid to Enríquez Negreira
UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Committee announced last April 23 the opening of an investigation into FC Barcelona for a «possible violation» of the European body’s legal framework following the ‘Negreira case’, for which, according to some journalistic reports, Barça made payments worth more than €7 million between 2001 and 2018 to then-TAC vice-president José María Enríquez Negreira.
Case investigated by the Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office
The case is also being investigated by the Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which filed a complaint against FC Barcelona and its former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu for alleged corruption for the 7.3 million euros that the club allegedly paid to Negreira. The complaint points to possible crimes of corruption in sports business, disloyal administration, misappropriation and falsification of commercial documents.
