Barcelona president Joan Laporta charged with bribery in Negreira case

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been charged with bribery in Negreira case by investigating judge Joaquin Aguirre.

The club was accused of bribery and payments made to former Vice-President of the Technical Committee of Referees, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

Barcelona have already made it clear that those €7 million were paid for services about technical reports on match officials and scout reports on young players in Spain.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta to stand in trial alongside former presidents

Laporta is set to stand in trial alongside former Presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu. Judge Joaquin Aguirre has also sent Laporta a letter informing about the charges against him.

At first it was determined that since the case was opened in March 2023, everything that happened before March 2013 (ten-year statute of limitation) was not criminally liable.

However, the judge has now stated that the statute of limitations dates back from when the final payments were made (2018).

He believes that the correct calculation to determine the statute of limitations is to go back ten years from 2018, that is 2008 during Laporta’s first presidency (2003-2010).

What next for Joan Laporta and Barcelona?

Laporta has denied any wrongdoing on the part of the club regarding this case. He has also said that it is a campaign against Barcelona. Moreover, no sporting corruption has been proven yet.

Barcelona and Laporta will likely argue that Negreira is not a public official, rather part of a private company in the RFEF.

However, if Laporta were to be convicted, he could face jail time of between three and six years. The club, meanwhile, could face anything from a warning to liquidation, depending on the sentence.

Nevertheless, Laporta and Barcelona are accused of bribery, but they have not been found guilty.