The Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office is investigating FC Barcelona on charges it committed $1.5 million in payments over three years to a firm owned by a then-leading official with Spain’s referee committee, CTA.
Spanish radio station Cadena SER revealed Wednesday that the club made a series of payments to a business owned by José María Enríquez Negreira between 2016 and 2018.
At the time, Enríquez Negreira was acting as the CTA’s vice president.
According to casino reviews and news sites, the CTA is the regulating organization responsible for choosing which referees and assistance conduct weekly matches in Spain. FC Barcelona’s final payment came in June 2018, which corresponded with Enríquez Negreira’s resignation from the CTA, according to Cadena SER.
At that moment, former Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu informed Cadena SER he terminated the payments to decrease expenditures at the club. Bartomeu noted that payments to the corporation have been continuous since at least 2003, the year he initially came at the club.
Enríquez Negreira revealed to Cadena SER that he never favored Barça in any decision or refereeing assignment.
When Cadena SER enquired about the inquiry into the payments, Enríquez Negreira confessed working completely for Barcelona.