The Spanish refereeing scandal surrounding FC Barcelona is coming to a head. As the responsible Supreme Court of Catalonia announced on Thursday, the premises of the country’s referee headquarters were searched. No arrests were planned, said a spokesman for the Guardia Civil. In March, prosecutors charged FC Barcelona, former club bosses and ex-referee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira with corruption, breach of trust and forged documents.
The allegations made by the Barcelona public prosecutor’s office are aimed in particular at Barça and its former presidents Josep Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell. It’s about millions in payments up to 2018 to a company Negreiras, who was vice president of the referee committee at the time. Both sides acknowledged the business ties but denied corruption.