The examining magistrate in the Negreira refereeing “scandal”, Judge Joaquín Aguirre, has dismissed the appeal filed by Barcelona and its former president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, against Real Madrid’s involvement in the case. In a ruling referring to the club’s appeal, the judge states that “Real Madrid CF must be considered a private plaintiff affected by the offence, just like any other team in LaLiga”.
In the same document, he adds: “If FC Barcelona has paid one of the vice-presidents of the Technical Committee of Referees to implement a specific type of refereeing, it must be categorically recognised that any participant in the competition should be considered a victim, as this custom-designed type of refereeing that benefits one team harms the others, who must be regarded as victims of the offence.” Judge Aguirre goes on to state that “a victim cannot be prohibited from participating in the case”.
The ruling that addresses Bartomeu’s appeal is even more forceful. In it, the judge recalls Enríquez Negreira’s statements to the Spanish Tax Administration Agency, in which he confessed: “What we did was review (match) reports made by referees after each game and rate them. Based on that rating, the referee could then be promoted to a higher league”. Bartomeu, through his legal representatives, argued that the “buying off” of referees had not been proven.
“No evidence” of specific matches being affected by Negreira payments
The judge counters that while “there is no evidence of traditional methods of payment being used to alter the outcome of specific matches”, the referee rating system overseen by Enríquez “could allow referees closest to him to officiate high-profile league and cup matches and international games, or even keep working at the level they are at, thereby significantly increasing their income”.
Judge Aguirre adds: “In the context of possible systemic corruption within the CTA (the Technical Committee for Referees in Spain), this magistrate believes that any LaLiga team that coincided with FC Barcelona during the years under investigation should be admitted as an offended party by the offence”.
Barcelona “wouldn’t pay Negreira if it did not benefit them”
The judge also addressed a previous statement made by Luis Medina Cantalejo, the current president of the CTA, on the role of Enríquez Negreira: “It is presumed by pure logic that FC Barcelona would not pay Vice President Negreira around 7 million euros since 2001 if it did not benefit them, but not because of the reports themselves. Instead, it is because of Negreira’s status as one of three CTA vice presidents, whose role was not merely representative, as indicated by Mr. Medina Canatlejo, the current president of the CTA, but one in which he performed significant tasks in the assessment and appointment of referees, as accurately pointed out by the lawyer of complainant Xavier Fernández Estrada, who cited Enríquez Negreira’s statement before the Spanish Tax Administration Agency”.
Separate money laundering investigation to be conducted
Judge Aguirre has opted to remove the Spanish Soccer Federation (RFEF), who run the CTA, from the case and has ordered a separate investigation into the alleged money laundering by Enríquez Negreira and his son, as well as the network of companies through which the payments were made.
The judge believes that the investigation into the main offence (the payments made by FC Barcelona, which have been “totally confirmed”) will not take too long and that conducting it at the same time as a money laundering investigation, which is presumed to be more complex, would hinder the progress of the case.
