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UEFA has now requested its own investigation into the matter, and if found guilty, Barcelona could face a Champions League ban for one season.
UEFA has launched an investigation into Spanish club Barcelona following allegations that the team paid millions of euros to companies linked to a former refereeing official. According to the Champions League regulations in effect since April 2007, the governing body has the power to ban teams from the competition for one season if they are found to have been involved in match fixing. Court documents show that Barcelona paid 7.3 million euros (£6.4 million) from 2001-18 to two companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, DASNIL, and NILSAT. Negreira is the former vice president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee. Prosecutors in Spain have accused Barcelona of corruption in sports, fraudulent management and falsification of business documents, and allege that the club maintained a relationship with the refereeing official to ensure ‘favourable decisions’ were made by referees. However, no evidence has yet been published that referees or individual games were actually influenced. Barcelona has denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games. If found guilty, the team could face a Champions League ban for one season.
