After the shock revelation earlier this week, FC Barcelona have now confirmed why they paid millions to a former LaLiga referee.
Earlier this week, Cadena SER radio programme Que t'hi jugues reported that the Blaugrana were involved in a major corruption scandal.
It was alleged that the Catalan giants had paid €1.4 million (R27 million) to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, via his company called DASNIL 95, between 2016 and 2018, during Josep Maria Bartomeu's time as president.
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Spain's tax agency is now investigating Negreira's company in an attempt to ensure that this payment was not in exchange for refereeing decisions in favour of the Blaugrana, with the ex-LaLiga referee having been vice-president of the country's Technical Committee for Referees at the time his comapny received the money from the Catalans.
The tax agency claims, however, that there is no documentation that details any consultancy relationship between Negreira and Barca.
The former referee and his son Javier Enriquez Romero have denied that the LaLiga leaders received any special treatment from match officials as a result of their relationship.
The European giant have now released a statement following the allegations.
"In response to information broadcast today on the Què t'hi jugues show on radio station Ser Catalunya, FC Barcelona, which is aware of the investigations into payments of external companies, wishes to make the following points clear: That in the past FC Barcelona hired the services of an external consultant that supplied the club's technical secretaries with reports in video format of youth players from other clubs in Spain," the statement on the club's official website read.
"Additionally, the relationship with that supplier extended to technical reports related to professional refereeing in order to complement the information requested by the first and second team coaching staff. This a common practice among professional football clubs.
"These kinds of outsourced services are now the duty of a professional who works for the Football Department.
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"FC Barcelona is sorry that this information has been released precisely when the team has hit its best form of the season.
"FC Barcelona shall be taking legal actions against those who are trying to tarnish the club's image with possible insinuations against its good reputation that could be caused by the release of such information."
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