Because of alleged bribery, Barcelona President Joan Laporta was asked to leave his post. If that happens, will the Blaugrana’s steps – nicknamed Barcelona – in winning the 2022-2023 Spanish League title disappear?
Recently the President of La Liga (Spanish League), Javier Tebas asked Joan Laporta to step down as president of Barcelona. This demand was made by Javier Tebas after there were accusations of a bribery scandal against referees made by Barcelona.
Barcelona is accused of making 33 separate payments to a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, former vice president of the Referee Technical Committee in Spain. The Blaugrana allegedly paid more than 1.5 million euros from 2016 to 2018.
An investigation is being carried out by the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office. However, La Liga could not open formal proceedings due to the Spanish League’s statute of limitations.
Even so, Javier Tebas criticised Barcelona. In fact, he urged Laporta to resign if he could not explain the 33 payments the club made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
“If (Laporta) doesn’t explain why he is paid, I think he (Laporta) should resign,” said Javier Tebas, as quoted by Goal International, Tuesday (21/2/2023).
Apart from that, Javier Tebas also speculated that the Barcelona scandal was worse than the financial mistakes made by Juventus. He seemed furious with the alleged bribery problem that occurred at the Blaugrana.
(Barcelona president, Joan Laporta) “For now I would say Juventus is more serious to be punished, but I see indications of more seriousness in Barcelona. A vice president of the Referee Technical Committee appears here,” added Javier Tebas.
On the other hand, Barcelona have announced they are carrying out an internal investigation into the Negreira case amid calls from other La Liga teams for the club to be investigated by the league. Apart from that, the Blaugrana continue to chase the Spanish League crown and the 2022-2023 Europa League even though the Negreira case continues to drag on.
Until week 22 of the 2022-2023 Spanish League, Barcelona sits at the top of the standings with 59 points, eight points ahead of Real Madrid in second place.
Meanwhile, in the 2022-2023 Europa League, Barcelona will travel to Manchester United headquarters in the second leg of the top 16 playoff. In the first leg, the score for Barcelona vs Manchester United is 2-2.
