The Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo published a statement by José María Negrera, former vice president of the Spanish Judicial Committee, to the police unit of the prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutors accused Barcelona of making suspicious financial payments to Negrera, as well as corruption and mismanagement.
And Mundo Deportivo published some of Negrira’s responses to the Barcelona case, which were as follows:
– What services have you rendered to Barcelona?
– Going to watch matches in person or through my former referee colleagues and giving them the reasons for making decisions. Barça are used to seeing that the team is being damaged and favored by other teams.. This is a personal assumption that no one directly told me about.
My duty was to express my opinion in matches in terms of refereeing decisions and the behavior of the players. This is technical advice. Barcelona wanted to make sure that no decisions were made against the club and that everything was done with impartiality.
How long have you been providing these services?
– About 13 years ago.
How were the bills paid?
– Through NILSAD and DASNIL.
– Did the moment of leaving the post of vice-president of the refereeing commission coincide with your termination of the provision of services to Barcelona?
– Yes .. “Barcelona” decided to terminate the contract unilaterally. I sent a letter to Bartomeu and complained about the termination of the contract, then called him, but he did not answer the call.
Have you ever sent someone part of the money you received?
– No.. I took it for myself or for DASNIL.
Have you ever paid a current or former referee for what you received from Barcelona?
– No.
Who was your contact person in Barcelona?
– Russell and Bartomeu.
– Do you regularly meet with Barcelona to give advice?
We used to meet a maximum of 6 times a year.
Is there any document or report that draws conclusions from the recommendations you made to Barcelona through DASNIL?
-No.
It is noteworthy that the accusations came after an investigation by the Barcelona prosecutor’s office about a year ago on suspicion of transferring money, estimated at about 7 million euros, from the “Catalan” club to a company owned by the latter, in exchange for providing verbal advice, which could be suspicious for the club.
Source: “Media”