Barcelona released a statement minutes before their game against Sevilla on Friday accusing their opponents of launching an ‘unjustified and inappropriate attack’ on the club.
The two Spanish teams went head-to-head in LaLiga on Friday evening with Barcelona hoping to return to the top of the table after dropping points to Mallorca in midweek.
But before what seemed to be just another game in Spanish football, the Catalan club slammed Sevilla for what they labelled ‘an attack against the Catalan institution and an unacceptable offence’.
It is alleged that Sevilla refused to attend an institutional lunch amongst directors and its representatives have refused to take their places in the directors’ box at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, where the club have been playing their home games.
Barca’s statement was in response to one made by Sevilla, who said their actions were in relation into the ongoing investigation that Barcelona allegedly bribed referees, which the club have denied.
Barcelona released a statement accusing Sevilla of launching an ‘unjustified and inappropriate attack’ minutes before the two faced off in LaLiga
The statement was released minutes before the two sides kicked off in their LaLiga match on Friday evening
The club have been charged with bribery regarding the alleged payments of millions of euros from the club to the vice-president Spain’s refereeing committee
Barcelona’s statement, in full, read: ‘FC Barcelona wishes to show publicly its condemnation of Sevilla FC’s unjustified and inappropriate attack after the club today refused to attend the institutional lunch amongst directors prior to today’s game between the two teams the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, where its representatives have also refused to take their places in the directors’ box.
‘Furthermore, the Andalusian club has published a statement in which it shows its “indignation and condemnation for the practices carried out by former FC Barcelona directors named in the Negreira case” and announces its absence from the directors’ box for today’s game.
‘FC Barcelona believe this to be an attack against the Catalan institution and an unacceptable offence.
‘The aforementioned Negreira Case cannot be used as an excuse for such measures, given that the legal case is in a very early phase and the position of Sevilla FC clearly prejudices the facts that have yet to be established in any shape or form.
‘Moreover, the legal decision announced today does not alter in any way the legal and factual position of FC Barcelona in the process; it is legal disputable; it does not come from any firm basis and it will be appealed against by the Club.
‘Furthermore, the FC Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, appeared in an extraordinary assembly of LaLiga, called for this very case, where he gave comprehensive clarifications and explanations on this question.
‘Sevilla FC’s position, therefore, appears illogical given that on the one hand it ignores the presumption of innocence and on the other denies FC Barcelona its right to a defence in the legal process which is currently ongoing.
‘In the light of this unacceptable and unjustifiable position of Sevilla FC, FC Barcelona believes that all institutional relations with the institution from Seville have been broken off until their current position is rectified.’
Barcelona deny any wrongdoing or conflict of interest regarding a current investigation, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions (pictured – president Joan Laporta)
The judge investigating alleged payments made by Barcelona to the vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee has decreed that current president Joan Laporta and two other former presidents could stand trial for bribery.
Barcelona paid Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira the sum of €7.3million (£6.3m) from 2001 to 2018 for what the club claim were reports on referees. He was vice-president of the refereeing committee at the time with influence over which referees were promoted to officiate top games and which were demoted.
According to documents reproduced by Spanish media the investigation by judge Joaquín Aguirre has concluded that it was ‘logical’ to understand that Barcelona were trying to buy influence.
Negreira was the vice-president of the Spanish Football Federation’s refereeing committee, and is therefore considered to have been a civil servant during the time payments were being made to him.
Sevilla had released their own statement beforehand, saying they were expressing their ‘complete outrage and condemnation
As a result, Laporta and two other former presidents could be charged with bribery on the basis that they were allegedly buying favours from government officials.
Sevilla’s statement read: ‘We express our complete outrage and condemnation of the actions carried out by the former officials of FC Barcelona who are indicted in the Negreira case, actions that are allegedly considered criminal by the Court of Instruction of Barcelona, as stated in the court order disseminated in the media.
‘We reject the behavior of FC Barcelona during the periods in which these alleged crimes took place.
‘For this reason, we have suspended the normal protocol corresponding to the LaLiga match scheduled for Friday, September 29, between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC, and will have no representation in the Montjuic stadium’s VIP box.’
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