Journalist who uncovered Barcelona commission payments to referee for 17 years speaks out

Sique Rodríguez, and the “What are you playing with” program (What’s at stake) of Cadena SER in Barcelona, ​​already generated a global impact a few years ago when they discovered what was called “the Barça-Gate”the payment to companies linked to social networks during the mandate of Josep María Bartomeu so that they attack a series of personalities. However, the same media has just caused a new commotion by announcing that between 2001 and 2018 the Barcelona Football Club paid around 7 million dollars to the then vice-president of the entity which brings together Spanish referees, the Technical Commission of Referees (CTA), José María Enríquez Negreira, so-called (according to some former managers maintain it now), to point out aspects related to the judge who was to lead the Barça team and, others, regulations .

These payments, in principle unjustified, were made for the benefit of the company “Dasnil 95 SL” – created barely a year after his appointment as vice-president of the Spanish arbitration body – of the former referee, and whose invoices exist , are under investigation by the Barcelona Public Prosecutor’s Office. Office, and There is, for the moment, no document that proves the existence of the work in exchange for the money received. Enriquez Negreira He explained on this subject to the taxman that his “technical opinion” was “verbal”. Also his son, Javier Enríquez, accused of Barcelona for alleged advice but through another company, ‘Soccer Cam’.

The link between Barcelona and Enríquez Negreira began in 2001 under the chairmanship of Joan Gaspart and continued with those of Joan Laporta (in its first stage), Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu until 2018, when during its management it was decided not to renew to reduce expenses in the face of the economic crisis that passed through the club.

The prosecution has been investigating the situation since May 2022 and so far it has not been possible to establish whether these monthly payments since 2001 have been used to buy the will of the referees in Barcelona matches.

GlobeLiveMedia was able to speak with Sique Rodríguez on the state of the investigation, which has football fans around the world in suspense and which has also shocked the journalistic investigation team itself.

-After all the effort your radio show has made with such a thorough investigation, do you think there could be some sort of sanction for Barcelona, ​​like relegation, removal of points or something like that?

I don’t think it will come to that. I don’t think anything happens from there. The administrative cause is prescribed, but not the criminal cause. I don’t think anything will happen and I don’t think there’s any point in it happening. What there may be is corruption between individuals, which the Spanish Federation and the League are looking for. The prescription is because there were no reports of Enríquez Negreira between 2001 and 2010. In any case, I don’t know the consequences that this can have, the scope that this can have. This covers the presidential periods of Bartomeu, Rosell, Laporta and Gaspart.

-Former media arbiter Rafa Guerrero said a few days ago on television that although he was vice-president of the CTA, Enríquez Negreira “didn’t command” and had almost no impact on the organization. Couldn’t it be that he used his position back then to sell smoke from Barcelona as he could do more than was really within reach?

-Enríquez sold, maybe, a little smoke. But as for Rafa Guerrero, what will a former referee say about his colleagues? Yes, he was responsible. I think Barcelona believed that in this way they controlled that the referees did not hurt them.

– Also now the defenders of Barcelona have appeared saying that precisely in this period in which the club had contact with Enríquez Negreira, they lost a league and had several decisions against them that hurt them a lot.

-Whether Barcelona benefited or not, injured or not throughout this period can be an endless debate between those who are fans of one team or another. I, who am even a member of the club, believe that Barcelona have been injured on more than one occasion and could have even lost two leagues by the referees, but that is my opinion, but someone from Real Madrid can tell you the opposite and to think that Barcelona took advantage of it. This already goes through a question of feeling. But I don’t think they bought referees to help them win games, but rather to believe that they were protected from possibly helping others.

– But won’t all teams do it or is it exclusively something for Barcelona?

-They all do, but Barcelona seemed to pay someone from the CTA. and no other club appears doing this and we looked everywhere. Even from Real Madrid, the response emerged that ‘it’s not necessary’.

-When consulted during these hours, Xavi Hernández said that they always analyze the referees and they know if they are communicative or not and it is not new, that they treat it internally For years.

-I think Xavi didn’t know all that.

-Enríquez Negreira’s son is also under investigation…

-Yes, coach Javier Enríquez, who collected the bills through another company, “Soccer Camp”. At least he gave a lecture to the people at the club once in a while. The father, no.

-In Italy, Juventus had the points discount, and in the past they even lost the category due to acts of corruption. Now it is said that there will be a severe sanction for Manchester City for manipulating figures in the recruitment and payment of players for its team. Will nothing happen with Barcelona or could there be some influence from what is happening in other strong European leagues?

– Something must happen but I don’t know. In the previous Juventus case it was different as there were audios that showed their manager Luciano Moggi dealing with the referees and here they are still investigating.

-How did you carry out a survey like this, given what Barcelona is and what it means for Catalan society and with the number of fans and partners it has? Have you had any threats?

– With a lot of stress. As I said, I am a supporter and member of Barcelona and not only have I received threats, but they have come to me from the sentimental side saying ‘do you realize this is bad for Barça?’ I came to cry and for two days I considered quitting journalism, but on the one hand I couldn’t let my team down and on the other I wonder what we did trouble investigating. We have done our job. Nothing more and nothing less than that.

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