MADRID, 20 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, assured this Monday that if the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, “does not explain well” everything related to the ‘Negreira case’, “he should resign”, at the same time that he revealed that among the clubs of Spanish football there is a “deep concern” and asked to “go to the end” and “find a reasonable explanation”, which could be “that it is a crime”.
“If Laporta doesn’t explain it well, he should resign. It’s one thing to work with ex-referees, and another with the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA). “They’ll have to see why he did that. There are many seasons, with different directives, that theoretically were not spoken, I don’t know, I don’t like it at all”, Tebas confessed in an appearance before the media, on the occasion of the presentation of the sports squad cost limits at the LaLiga headquarters in Madrid.
The president of the employers’ association informed that there is a “deep concern in most of the clubs, even in FC Barcelona”, with the ‘Negreira case’. “Each club is free to issue their statements”, he assessed regarding the statements from Sevilla and Espanyol assessing the investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office of alleged payments by the Catalan club to the former vice president of the CTA Enríquez Negreira. In addition, he was contrary to a collective statement from LaLiga.
Thebes lamented the “reputational damage” that this issue does to Spanish football and advanced that they will collaborate with the Prosecutor’s Office from their “active” position. “We have written a document for the Prosecutor’s Office with some information that can help to clarify the facts. If there had not been a prescription, we would have opened a file, but now it is illegal,” he said.
“We believe, with the data at this time, that it can continue to be investigated. The indications lead us to investigate, it is a criminal matter. The crime of sports corruption prescribes at 10 years, since its penalty of disqualification can be more than 5 years old (from 2 to 6). You have to investigate it because that’s how the clubs want it, I want it to make it easier for us (FC Barcelona,” he added.
And it is that Thebes argued that the investigation must continue to “find a reasonable explanation.” “That it may be that what has been done is a crime. Until I see him testify (to Negreira) I will be in a situation of uncertainty,” he confessed.
“I am not going to hide behind the clubs on this issue, we are going to follow the same line, I am not going to preside over an institution where there are some indications that I cannot investigate. There is general malaise among the clubs,” he continued forcefully, before to confirm that they will consider reporting this matter to UEFA and FIFA. “We will have to do something, otherwise we would be inconsistent, even if it is a Spanish club. They are serious facts and difficult to understand,” he said.
Regarding Barça’s position shown during the Divisions Meeting on Monday, he advanced that the Catalan club “are concerned” and “hope to have more clarity and go all the way” with their internal investigation. “They have not assessed whether it is correct or not, they are going to wait for their investigation. We are not going to let the club itself carry out its investigation,” Tebas said.
“The sponsors (of LaLiga) have not shown concern. What hurts is not working or putting whites on blacks. With the ‘Osasuna case’ some executives are going to go to prison, although this is more worrying, it needs a lot of clarification. Sponsors would be worried if we didn’t work for the investigation. They are very clear that we are going to go to the end, whether it is a small team or FC Barcelona”, settled the president of LaLiga.