President Joan Laporta calls the accusations against FC Barcelona about alleged corruption pure slander. “They are deliberately trying to destroy us,” said the CEO. The Spanish judiciary has now launched an investigation into suspicious payments made by the club to a former boss of the referee committee.
“Don’t think that we will only defend ourselves, we will also choose the attack,” Laporta said in a video message to the members of the club. “There are those who want to destabilize Barcelona, in the short term and especially in the long term. We will all prove this.”
The Public Prosecution Service previously sued Barcelona for payments to a company owned by a former boss of the referee commission in Spain. Former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell are said to have been guilty of bribery. The arbitrator in question is José Maria Enriquez Negreira. It would concern payments between 2001 and 2018 amounting to 6.5 million euros.
Barcelona is currently the leader in the Spanish league. The top duel with pursuer and defending champion Real Madrid is scheduled for Sunday.
Source: ANP
