Instead of enjoying euphoria, Barcelona fans are biting their nails. First place in the Primera table suggests winning the title after a four-year wait. However, events off the field bring great anxiety. It all revolves around ‘the Negreira case’, which has been rocking Spanish football for weeks.This Thursday the story went international, as UEFA opened an official investigation against the Catalans. The control ethics body of the European House of Football has launched a procedure aimed at determining whether there were any illegal actions in the close relationship with the referees.In a short statement, UEFA recalled that in accordance with the Disciplinary Rules, the inspectors launched an investigation.##NAJAVA_MECA_7117979##This case is already presented to the regular courts of Spain, where the process could drag on for up to two years. At the Nou Camp stadium, they are defending themselves, assuring that there is no evidence that José María Enriquez Negreira, while he was vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees, compiled advisory statements for the club between 1964 and 2018, for which he received a fee of 7,300,000 euros. The prosecution, on the other hand, accuses the Catalans that the actions during that period tended to favor Barcelona on the field and the referees to make calls in their favor.So far, neither the Madridian (AS and Marca) nor the Catalan dailies (Mundo and Sport) have predicted what the eventual sanction for Barcelona could be – if UEFA indeed determines that there were actions contrary to its principles. However, Article 4.02 of the Champions League Regulations states:”If UEFA concludes that a club is directly or indirectly involved in any activity aimed at organizing or influencing the outcome of matches at national or international level, that club will not be able to participate in the competition.”Barcelona are denying any wrongdoing as UEFA begin their investigation. pic.twitter.com/PrdrXPhn5V— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 23, 2023 It should also be noted that the leaders of UEFA communicated with the leader of the Spanish FA even before starting the procedure and that on February 24 they requested “complete information on this topic”.Mundo reminds that when making a decision, UEFA can rely, although not necessarily, on the decision of a national or international sports body, arbitration or state court.
