FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta on Thursday reacted angrily to the news that he has been accused of bribery in the ongoing ‘Caso Negreira’ which is investigating bribes over a long period of time to Josep Maria Negreira, the former Vice-President of the Spanish referees’ technical committee.
Laporta faces charges for the period 2008-2010 during his first spell as club president, while former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu are also under investigation for payments of over seven million euros to a company owned by Negreira.
“The judge’s decision has no basis, and I do not agree,” said Laporta in an interview on Catalan radio on Thursday.
He admitted that the charges were “expected” but insisted he was calm “because there was no bribery – much less continued bribery.”
Laporta continued to insist the payments to Negreira were for his company to compile reports on referees and possible signings for Barcelona.
“They were paid for services and we have presented 629 reports in 42 CDs,” he said, repeating that the club had “demonstrated services in exchange for documented payment.”
“The judge wants to show that we have bought referees and fixed matches, but they will not be able to prove it because it is not true. The sentence will absolve us,” he said.
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