UEFA has the power to expel Barça from Europe without a sentence in the ‘Negreira case’

UEFA has the power to temporarily expel a club from its competitions if it considers that its conduct may tarnish their reputation without the need for a firm resolution from a sports entity or the courts. The top managers of European football are closely following the investigation into the ‘Negreira case’, and the serious accusations by the Prosecutor’s Office against Barcelona and against the former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell have set off alarm bells in the offices of Nyon. Barça, according to the conclusions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, paid more than seven million euros to whoever was vice president of the refereeing establishment so that he would supposedly favor him in the election of the referees and in his performances during the matches. The investigating judge must now decide if he sees signs of crime and admits the complaint of what is undoubtedly one of the biggest scandals in Spanish football.

The blaugrana entity therefore faces a very dark horizon with an ongoing judicial process that could have criminal consequences and with another sports entity that threatens to keep it out of the Champions League for at least one season, with the economic and image setback that this would entail for an institution that is financially reeling right now. UEFA would not need a sentence to sanction Barcelona and temporarily expel it from the Old Continent if it interprets that it is not a good ambassador for its competitions as there is a risk that it will damage its credibility due to an alleged case of corruption. This is how its regulations establish it in two articles that are summarized in the following statement: “When making its decision, UEFA can trust, but is not bound by a decision of a national or international sports body, arbitration tribunal or a state court.”

Snowball

Javier Tebas assured in his day when the plot was known that, beyond taking part in the cause, the League is tied hand and foot in this matter because, if it occurred, the most serious episodes prescribe three years. It was the head of the club employers’ association who assured that Joan Laporta should resign if he does not offer an explanation for what happened and who urged UEFA to act to resolve possible punishments. Cornered by a snowball that does not stop growing, the Barça leader has even lost the support of his counterpart at Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, who until not long ago was his greatest ally in the Super League project .

With the accounts in red numbers and with the levers like an almost perennial sword of Damocles, the expulsion from the Champions League, even if it was only for one course, would be a lethal blow for Can Barça. And it is that the sports prizes and the television rights for playing it yield some fundamental dividends for the blaugrana entity in its attempt to come out on top. An example: in the 2020-21 season, the last one for which official data is available, Barcelona earned 85 million and fell in the round of 16. Ticket sales are not included in this amount.