Joan Laporta, on the Negreira case: "The fact that Barça received technical and arbitration advice does not constitute any criminal offense"

Joan Laporta has spoken this Monday for the first time before the media about the

, the payment of 7.3 million euros to José María Enríquez Negreira (former vice president of the Technical Arbitration Committee) over 17 years and under the mandate of four presidents.

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has taken on the case due to its "complexity", "relevance" and "public impact".

In a press conference that lasted more than two hours, the club's president said: “The fact that Barça received technical and arbitration advice does not constitute any type of criminal offence.

We did it with clarity and transparency.

It is advice that all clubs have implemented, which existed and is recorded in club invoices and accounting books that have passed fiscal reviews.

I can assure you of that, at least as far as my tenure from 2003 to 2010 is concerned. I was never in the mood to hide things”.

Laporta continues to present Barça as a victim.

"Another thing is that someone, a private entity or a natural person has taken advantage of this to take advantage, but in this case Barça would be a victim, and a person affected, I think that the prosecution is working in this direction."

More information

The reason for the payments, the money trail and the possible manipulation: the doubts and certainties of the 'Negreira case'

Before answering the questions, Laporta criticized Real Madrid, which has appeared in the case opened by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor.

“He says that he feels harmed, a club like Madrid that has historically been favored by arbitration decisions, which has been considered the regime's team, due to its proximity to political, economic and sports power.

For seven decades, most of the presidents of the CTA (Technical Arbitration Committee) have been uninterrupted ex-partners, or ex-players or ex-directors of Real Madrid and on some occasions all at once... At least now they can be unmasked and this trial will put them instead, it is an unprecedented exercise in cynicism.”

Joan Laporta, during the press conference this Monday in Barcelona.

DPA via Europa Press (DPA via Europa Press)

Regarding the process opened by UEFA that could exclude Barça from European competitions, he commented: “the top president of UEFA has not fallen into the trap of Mr. Tebas.

At least for now.

The inputs I have from the UEFA investigation is that it will be pronounced when we are tried.

As I am convinced that Barça will be exempted from any criminal responsibility, I am clear that we will continue as normal".

And he added: "We have explained it to UEFA, we hope to be in the Champions League next season."

Barcelona, ​​according to the Prosecutor's complaint, "reached and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement" with Negreira whose ultimate purpose was to alter the competition in favor of the club.

In his only statement, before the Tax Agency, Negreira stated that he was hired because Barça wanted to ensure "neutral" arbitrations, which would not harm him.

Prosecutors did not present evidence that the money received by Negreira was used for payments that conditioned the arbitration proceedings.

The president of FC Barcelona, ​​Joan Laporta, during the press conference this Monday in Barcelona.

Alejandro Garcia (EFE)

Laporta announced in mid-March an offensive against which he believes to be a campaign.

“Its objective is to destabilize the team in the short term and to control Barça in the medium term, to keep it.

There will be time to tell who, why and how they are orchestrating this campaign.

Have no doubt that we will defend ourselves, and we will not just defend ourselves, we will attack,” he said.

At the moment, he has not given a single explanation about the payments of 7.3 million euros to the one who was vice president of the CTA.

This Monday he will talk about the internal audit that the club carried out on those payments.

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