Madrid has waited for the Prosecutor’s complaint to come to fruition and has come across some more serious accusations even than they thought, since in the complaint document it warns of “actions tending to favor FC Barcelona in making decisions about the referees in the matches played by the club, and thus in the results of the competitions”. That has moved Real Madrid to convene an extraordinary board of directors this Sunday, in which it has made the decision to appear in the case as a private accusation.
Behind this movement by Florentino appears the interest of the white club in having access to the documentation related to the investigation carried out, and the proceedings that the judge deems appropriate from then on. This is one of the aspirations of the white club: to know precisely what happened for almost two decades between Barcelona and the vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees, to whom the Catalans paid more than seven million euros. It will therefore be the third party that appears in the case, in addition to the Federation and LaLiga.
Despite the belligerent movement of the white board, the circumstance occurs that in the complaint by the Prosecutor’s Office it points out, in addition to the Barça club, the former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu and the former directors Óscar Grau and Albert Soler, as well like Negreira himself. But Joan Laporta is exempt, despite the fact that under his mandate the amount of the payment to the former vice president of the CTA quadrupled. AND It does not seem coincidental that Real Madrid waited to see if Laporta appeared charged before making the decision to appear in person, because the relationship between Florentino and Laporta is still close, beyond the Super League. It is also no coincidence that the investment firm ‘Sixth Street’ has paid Real Madrid 360 million to enter the Santiago Bernabéu business, while Barcelona has pocketed 415 million for 25% of its television rights, thus helping Laporta to activate one of his levers.
Besides, Real Madrid for the moment has only indicated one person and it is not anyone linked to the Catalan club. Real Madrid Televisión charged this Saturday against Carlos Clos Gómez, the head of the VAR since 2018, where he arrived under the mandate of Luis Rubiales, of whom they warned: “In his 11 years in the elite he became a real nightmare for Real Madrid. He was one of the referees who most harmed the Madrid team.” It is not by chance that the first target of the white club is a position dependent on the Federation and not a Barça leader.
WITHOUT DESCENT AND WITHOUT CHAMPIONS?
At this point, the question is whether there can be sporting sanctions for Barcelona, such as a relegation to Second. Javier Tebas has already warned that Barça cannot be administratively sanctioned because it is a case that occurred five years ago, and on December 22 of last year, the new Sports Law was approved in Congress, which, in its article 112, states that “very serious infractions will prescribe after three years, serious ones after two years and minor ones after six months”. Something similar happened in Italy with Juventus, which was relegated in 2006 when it was shown that it had influenced the referees to win games during the previous season. Besides, also it was sanctioned with an economic fine of 120,000 euros and with the retirement of two ‘scudettos’.
And then the shadow of UEFA and its president, Aleksandr Ceferin, emerges, who can take revenge against the Catalans for leading the Super League. In this case, there is the possibility that Barcelona will be left out of the Champions League and Europe on the grounds of ‘ineligibility’ based on the disciplinary regulations referred to in articles 4.02 and 4.03. Decision that takes shape with the passing of the days and that would be a fatal blow for a Barcelona that would generate millions in losses after activating all the levers a few months ago. Faced with this situation, Laporta has limited himself to sending a message: “Culers, be calm. Barça is innocent of what they are accused of”. Of that, you can. But what if there is something else as Real Madrid suspects?