Barcelona Football Club Under Investigation for Alleged Bribery in Referee Case

Reuters reported on Thursday, October 6, based on a court document it obtained, that the Spanish football club Barcelona is under investigation for what is termed 'active bribery' as part of two decades of corruption investigations related to the refereeing committee. The Barcelona court announced that police inspected the offices of the Spanish refereeing committee at the football federation in Madrid, Spain's capital, as part of ongoing investigations into 'potential systematic corruption' within this committee. This comes at a time when the Spanish football federation is embroiled in sexual abuse allegations against its former president, Luis Rubiales. On August 20 of this year, during the final ceremony of the Women's World Cup, Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso, a player of the Spanish women's national football team, sparking public outrage. This incident largely overshadowed both the team's victory and the refereeing scandal in Spain. He has since resigned from his position. The investigation into refereeing corruption has now expanded to include Barcelona. The judge in this case, Joaquín Aguirre López, stated earlier this month that the club may have benefited from some kind of behind-the-scenes relationships. Earlier this year, prosecutors filed a complaint regarding payments of over €7.3 million ($7.8 million) over 17 years to companies owned by José María Enríquez Negreira, vice president of the Spanish refereeing committee from 1993 to 2018. A source from Barcelona told Reuters that the club will not issue an official statement on this matter and added that criminal lawyers have been prepared for this issue 'from day one and are working on all aspects related to this case.' Barcelona, the La Liga champion, has denied any wrongdoing. The club stated in May that it had hired an external consultant regarding 'technical reports related to professional refereeing,' which is a common practice among professional football clubs. Real Madrid, Barcelona's fierce rival, has joined this legal dispute as a damaged party. Judge Aguirre mentioned that José María Enríquez Negreira was responsible for ranking and evaluating referees but stated earlier this month that no evidence has yet been found of payments made by him to referees to influence game outcomes. The consequences of the 'forbidden kiss' ultimately forced Rubiales to resign. The fallout from the controversial kiss continues; the head coach of the Spanish women's national football team was dismissed. The Spanish government's action to remove the president of the football federation; the aftershocks of the controversial kiss continue. Three-month suspension; FIFA punished the president of the Spanish football federation. The controversial kiss in the Women's World Cup final; the Prime Minister of Spain: An apology is not enough.