Negrera's statements revealed in the "Barcelona case"

The Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" published the statements of José Maria Negrera, former vice president of the Referees Committee in Spain, before the police unit of the Attorney General's Office.

The prosecutor had accused Barcelona of making suspicious payments to Negreira, as well as sporting corruption and unfair management.

Russia Today quoted Mundo Deportivo as saying some of Negrera's responses in the Barcelona case, which were as follows:

What services have you provided to Barcelona?

- Going to watch the matches in person or through my colleagues former referees, and informing them of the reasons for making decisions, Barcelona was of the opinion that the team was being harmed, and that other teams were preferable to it. And this is a personal hypothesis that no one has told me directly.

My commitment was to give an opinion on the games in terms of refereeing decisions and players' actions, it's technical advice, what Barcelona wanted was to make sure that no decisions were made against the club, that everything was going neutrally.

How long have you been providing these services?

- About 13 years ago.

How were the bills paid?

- Through NILSAD and DASNIL.

Did the moment you left as vice-president of the jury coincide with your cessation of services to Barcelona?

-Yes.. Barcelona decided to terminate the contract unilaterally, I sent Bartomeu a letter and complained about the termination of the contract, then I called him, but he did not answer the phone.

Have you ever sent some money you received to someone?

-No.. I got it for myself or for DASNIL.

Have you ever paid a current or former referee for what you received from Barcelona?

-No.

Who was the person responsible for contacting you in Barcelona?

- Russell and Bartomeu.

Have you met regularly with Barcelona for advice?

- We used to meet 6 times a year at most.

Is there any document or report that includes the conclusions of the advice you gave Barcelona through DASNIL?

-No.

It is noteworthy that the accusations came after investigations conducted by the Barcelona prosecution about a year ago on suspicion of providing money to Negrira, estimated at about 7 million euros from the "Catalan" club to the company owned by the latter in exchange for oral advice that may be suspicious to the club.