The investigation is still ongoing. Three years after the start of the Negreira affair, named after the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees who allegedly received large sums of money from FC Barcelona, it took a new turn this Friday. Two former coaches of the Catalan club were notably heard by the courts, namely Ernesto Valverde and Luis Enrique, current coach of Paris Saint-Germain.
Let’s go back to the matter first. This concerns an investigation into alleged payments of more than 7.3 million euros that FC Barcelona would have made between 2001 and 2018 to the head of Spanish arbitration. It remains to be seen what these transfers were for. If the Catalans mention “sports consultation services, refereeing reports and pre- and post-match advice”, justice is trying to determine whether this is not an attempt to influence decisions.
“The biggest scandal in football history”
This Monday, “El Larguero” and “El Chiringuito” addressed this affair in their broadcasts and revealed the content of the hearings of the former coaches. The two men thus swore to have never received reports. “I neither requested nor received them. I have never had access to them because I do not use them as part of my work,” assured the Bilbao coach. “In the six years I was coaching, no one showed me the reports. Neither me, nor any member of my staff,” added that of Paris.
During Real Madrid’s Christmas lunch, Madrid president Florentino Pérez cried foul. “Our biggest concern is the refereeing in Spain,” he said. How is it possible that, in this criminal case, we are the only ones demanding justice? How is it possible that the president of referees asks us to forget and move on? But how can we forget the biggest scandal in football history? »
