Barcelona paid referee chief in 'self defence'

New reports have surfaced in the Negreira case suggesting that Barcelona made the alleged payments to former Spanish referee chief Enriquez Negreira as ‘self defence’.

Barcelona have been charged by Spanish prosecutors with 'continued corruption in business' as they are accused of paying Negreira for favourable refereeing decisions.  

Relevo reports findings advanced by El Mundo which alleged that Sandro Rosell and Bartomeu who are implicated in this Negreira case as they were also indicted as individuals have justified the payments made to Negreira as 'self defence'

The reports claim that various Barcelona executives, from the period in which they have been accused of making said payments, have revealed that a trend of bias by referees towards Madrid led them to make the payments to balance the scales.  

The payments were said to be a well guarded secret, knowledge of which excluded many, including Barcelona's coaches, to 'protect them'.

These recent revelations are said to be consistent with Negreira's statement at the prosecutor's office, where he said the payments were made to him to 'guarantee neutrality'.

Barcelona as an entity now led by Joan Laporta continue to be accused of not making any explanations of their own, but the club's president continues to communicate that the club is innocent of what it has been charged with.