LaLiga takes decision on punishing Barcelona for paying referee €1.4m

LaLiga president, Javier Tebas has said Barcelona will not face any sanctions for payments made to the company of a former senior referee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

However, he admitted the Catalans could still suffer criminal jurisdiction.

Statute of limitations laws in Spain only make it possible to punish clubs within three years of any offences.

Cadena Ser on Wednesday claimed that Barca paid almost €1.4million to DASNIL 95 SL owned by Negreira between 2016 and 2018, with further payments potentially dating back as far as 2003.

In a statement, Barca insisted that Negreira’s company provided them with “technical reports related to professional refereeing”.

However, even in that case, the payments could still represent a conflict of interest because of Negreira’s role on the referee’s committee at the time.

“Let’s see how that investigation ends. At LaLiga, we are going to wait and respect the prosecutor’s office investigation and once that has finished, see whether it decides to file the appropriate complaint or lawsuit in the corresponding courts. From there, we will make decisions,” Tebas said.