Spanish La Liga President Javier Tebas has commented on the corruption scandal surrounding FC Barcelona, which is suspected of bribing football referees.
Tebas said on The Wild Project podcast:
We have submitted certain documents for research. In this case it has not been proven that referees have been paid and I do not believe that it [will be] proven either. Barcelona paid Negreira because he sold them [the belief] that he could influence the promotions and relegations of referees. He sold them [the belief] that Barcelona could have more influence on that. That is sports corruption, but not at the level of buying [referees].. I think Barcelona will have their sanction, but not at the level of the narrative that is being built from Madrid.
In September 2023, a court considered a payment of seven million euros made by the Catalan club to the Technical Committee of Referees between 2001 and 2018 for consultations to be a crime. Aside from Negreira, his son and two former presidents of Barcelona, Josep Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, were also accused of receiving bribes.
It is worth noting that Real Madrid requested an extension of the investigation into the Negreira case until March 2025. Los Blancos also opposed the satisfaction of appeals submitted by Barcelona during the court proceedings.
According to EFE, the court has annulled the ruling regarding Barcelona's bribery accusations and the investigation into payments to former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees in Spain, Enriquez Negreira.
Judge Joaquín Aguirre, who examined the Negreira case, decided to close the investigation into sports corruption involving the Blaugrana due to a lack of substantial evidence.