It is certainly the news of the year in the world of football. Barcelona reportedly secured the services of the former vice-president of the Technical Commission of Referees of the Spanish Federation, José Maria Enriquez Negreira, between 2016 and 2018.
The Negreira Affair
It has been looping for a few hours in the kingdom. Iberian journalists unveiled to the eyes of the world what is already called the Negreira case. Some even speak of the biggest scandal in the history of Spanish football. An investigation for corruption between individuals has been opened by the competent Catalan authorities.
It all started with the program “What are you playing with?” of the SER, Catalan media. ” What are you playing at “, in French, then revealed that FC Barcelona would have made a payment of approximately 1.4 million euros to DASNIL 95, a company belonging to the now famous José Maria Enriquez Negreira. The vice-president of the Technical Commission of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation between 1994 and 2018 would have received three Barcelona payments distributed as follows:
- 532,728.02 Euros in 2016
- 541,752 Euros in 2017
- 318,200 Euros in 2018
Barcelona, customary of the fact
If the dates of these payments coincide with the era of Joseph Maria Bartomeu (2014-2020) at the head of the Soccer club, this rather curious gesture that some try to justify wouldn’t be only 6 years old. Mr. Bartomeu confirmed to the SER that these dubious remunerations were already in the news among the gathering long before he was elected. They would date from before 2003, during the first mandate of John Laportathe current president Alzugrana : a version corroborated by Sandro Rossellboss of Barcelona between 2010 and 2015.
Although this is a Lusitanian problem, it makes sense to link it to UEFA. European Spain, its federation is naturally a member, which is moreover very influential, of the umbrella of the king sport of its continent. Federation of Real Madrid and Clasicoits history is unmistakably linked to that of the old world.
In other words, if Mr. Negreira worked for his country, it is because he indirectly worked for Europe. The mayhem that bears his name therefore influenced the course of the great Champions League. Without him would the great Barça have existed? The question is posed…
Indeed, the Reassembled in everyone’s mind, in Spain as in Europe, no one can deny the chance immeasurable that has accompanied Barcelona during this prolific period of its history.
The French channel Canal+ Sport, has also returned, in the second opus of Decrypted, on one of the notable events of this insignia era of the sphere of the round ball. The C1 semi-final second leg, Chelsea – Barcelona du 6 May 2009which saw Didier Drogba furious with the central referee, Mr. Tom Henning Ovreboshout his anger in front of the cameras and give this episode decrypted by Toni Chapron and himself, his name: « Fucking Disgrace ».
“It was the only time I suspected that a match had been fixed”, will later confide Guus Hiddinkcoach of Blues this evening at the end of which, at least 4 penalties should have been awarded to his foals. Comments similar to those that José Mourinho had made when he was on the bench for Real Madrid in 2011, also beaten by Barcelona, in the last four of the Long Ear Cut. equal to himself, the Special One did not mince his words :
“I won two Champions Leagues on the pitch with Porto and Inter. Porto, which comes from a weaker, less wealthy league, and Inter, which hadn’t won for 50 years. We won by fighting. I sincerely wish Josep Guardiola to win like this one day. Me in his place I would be ashamed of the way he won his Champions League, with the help of the referee. And I would be ashamed to win it at Wembley after the Bernabeu scandal. I really wish him to win one day in a clean way because I believe he is a very very great coach..
And Lionel Messi in all this?
To assess the impact of this financial package on Barça’s results in La Liga, Marca had fun running a thread on its Twitter account. A thread of publications on which we will remember that Barcelona, between 2016 and 2018, won 2 Ligabenefited from 33 penalties against 3 for his opponentsspent more than 2 years, from February 14, 2016 to March 1, 2018, without conceding a single surface kick and took 4 red cards against 23 for opposing teams. A sample that beautifully draws the vein in which this club has bathed for more than 10 years, Messi in heaven.
Oui, Leo is the main legatee of the most beautiful page in the history of Barcelona. Protected like the star he is, his record in Catalonia was written during this decade of success.
9 out of 10 La Liga, 6 out of 7 King’s Cups, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 4 C1 and 3 UEFA Super Cups won by Albiceleste, to name a few, who embody this power that also followed him off the field. Undoubted influence manifested here and there by the departures of several players, coaches and managers, and summarized by this epic piece, thought aloud by its big brother:
“I have an article from Sport (the Catalan newspaper, editor’s note) hanging in my house that says: ‘Messi should return to Barcelona’ and I captioned it: ‘hahahahaha, we will not return to Barcelona, and if we do it, we’ll do a good cleaning”. Among other things, fire Joan Laporta. People (in Barcelona) didn’t support him. People should have come out and demonstrated or something, for Laporta to leave and Messi to stay. The Spaniards are traitors. I’m telling you this because I want this to come out of our guts and not listen to things that aren’t true”then released Matias Messi on the Twitch channel ‘Labajada10’, specifying in all modesty, that we have “began to know Barça from Messi”according to words translated by Foot Market.
In other words, “the traitors” didn’t like it. He apologized but the transfer papers still leaked. The response ? Who knows ? Still, after his very controversial victory at the last World Cup, the barça gate again came to tarnish the image of a brilliantly absent Messi in the Parisian jersey.
Tasteless, the performance of the native of Rosario against Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes will certainly not help this situation which further darkens his career, promised to a bright future however. Between his colleagues who swear allegiance to him, the media who cover him, the disputed Ballons d’Or and the collective trophies won against a backdrop of favouritism, The flea ends with a big question mark: « Why always him ? »