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Barça bribery charges quashed in referee corruption case

A Spanish court quashed bribery charges against FC Barcelona on Friday relating to a refereeing corruption scandal, and halted an investigation into president Joan Laporta.

Published: 24 May 2024 13:57 CEST
Barça bribery charges quashed in referee corruption case
Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Pedri celebrates after scoring. (Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO / AFP)

Former presidents Josep María Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell and others remain under investigation for alleged sporting corruption, after the club paid a former refereeing chief more than €7.3 million ($7.9 million) between 1994 and 2018.

Prosecutors suspect Barcelona paid a company owned by José María Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee (CTA) between 2001 and 2018, to influence refereeing decisions.

“We maintain our conviction that through the courts… (the issue) can be definitively clarified and the absolute innocence of the club can be proven,” said Barcelona in a statement.

The decision to quash the bribery charges hinges on the Barcelona court deciding Negreira did not have the status of “public official” during his time as vice-president of the CTA.

The investigation began in March 2023 after Spain’s tax authorities identified irregularities in tax payments made between 2016 and 2018 by the company Dasnil 95 – owned by Negreira.

Barcelona said they paid Dasnil 95 to advise the club on refereeing matters and produce reports on officials.

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FOOTBALL

Rubiales to go on trial in February in Spain over unwanted kiss

Disgraced former Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales will stand trial in February next year for his unsolicited kiss on the lips of Women's World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso, the court overseeing the process said Monday.

Published: 17 June 2024 14:19 CEST
Rubiales to go on trial in February in Spain over unwanted kiss

Rubiales, 46, provoked worldwide outrage by kissing Hermoso during the medal ceremony after Spain beat England to win the World Cup in Australia last year.

In May a court had ruled Rubiales should be tried for sexual assault over the kiss, and for the alleged coercion subsequently exerted to make her say that it was consensual, without setting a date.

The trial will be held at the Audiencia Nacional, a Madrid court in charge of complex cases, from February 3 to 19, the court said in a statement.

Public prosecutors have requested a sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison for Luis Rubiales — one year for sexual assault and 18 months for coercion.

The prosecution is also asking for two years’ probation once the sentence has been served and for him to pay €50,000 ($54,000) in compensation to the player.

Rubiales is also under investigation in a separate alleged corruption case involving his reign at the federation, has denied any wrongdoing.

Three of his former associates are also being tried for putting pressure on Hermoso: former women’s coach Jorge Vilda, men’s team director Albert Luque and federation marketing boss Ruben Rivera.

The kiss took place live in front of the world’s cameras, provoking widespread outrage and prompting his suspension by world football governing body FIFA.

At the time, Rubiales brushed it off as “a consensual” peck on the lips, but Hermoso, 34, said it was not.

Under Spanish law, a non-consensual kiss can be classed as sexual assault — a criminal category that groups all types of sexual violence.

Rubiales told private Spanish television station La Sexta in April that he could not understand how the kiss he gave Hermoso could be labelled as sexual assault, saying there was “no sexual context” to it.

He denied accusations that he and other federation officials coerced Hermoso by pressuring her to speak out in his defence after the scandal erupted.

“I have a clear conscience, things have been blown out of proportion,” Rubiales said.

Hermoso filed a lawsuit against Rubiales in September, telling the judge she had come under pressure to defend him both on the flight back from Australia and on a subsequent team holiday to Ibiza in the Balearic Islands.

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