Former Vice-President of the Referees Committee (CTA) Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira looks set to escape any punishment for his role in the so-called ‘Negreira case’. Barcelona stand accused of sporting corruption over a period of 17 years for payments between €7m and €8m to Negreira for supposed consultancy fees. The Catalan side have denied all wrongdoing, claiming their payments for the services rendered were legitimate.
Negreira was employed by Barcelona to provide scouting reports on officials during that period, but the public prosecutor has been unable to verify that said services were rendered, while Real Madrid and several other clubs have joined the case as claimants against Barcelona for potential damages. The trial is currently still taking evidence three years after the investigation became public knowledge.
📸 Araújo's new haircut. 💇♂️
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As explained by El Mundo, via Marca, Negreira is highly unlikely to stand trial for the crimes he is accused of. Negreira is yet to give further testimony after a first round of questions from the police in 2024, after being deemed unfit to do so. He refused to answer questions on that occasion. Things have gotten worse for Negreira, and the latest prognosis after a fresh medical exam is that his dementia has progressed, and he may have Alzheimer’s disease. The exam was requested by his lawyer, and barring a surprise turn, Negreira will not be called into court.
This is the first major development in the case for some time, with various figures from Barcelona’s past between 2001 and 2018 given their testimony over the past year. Yet Real Madrid have increased their rhetoric on the topic, with President Florentino Perez demanding immediate punishment last week. Barcelona interim president Rafa Yuste called his words ‘pathetic’, and the Catalan side put out a statement announcing they were considering legal action against Perez.
