'Negreira Case': Laporta, Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde, summoned to testify

The investigation into the payments made by the board of directors of FC Barcelona to the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees, José María Enríquez Negreira, will continue for at least another semester. This was instructed by the judge in charge of the case, Alejandra Gil, head of court number 1 of Barcelona.

The previous extension expired on Monday, September 1, so the investigation will remain open until March 2026. According to the judge, the case remains "practically in the same situation" as it was six months ago, when at the end of February (on the 26th) it was also decided to extend the case.

In addition, the judge summoned the president of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, together with the former coaches of the Azulgrana team, Luis Enrique (2014-2017) and Ernesto Valverde (2017-2020) on November 25.

The reasons of the ordinary justice to keep the 'Negreira case' open

Although after more than two years of investigation no evidence has been found to confirm match-fixing or concrete influence in arbitral designations, Judge Gil assures that it is necessary to continue with the case due to "the difficulty of finding dates for the declaration of the investigated in view of the previous indications of the lawyers involved in the procedure".

The case has to do with the payments made to the former vice president of the CTA, Enríquez Negreira, for more than 7.3 million euros between 1994 and 2018, according to reports from the Tax Agency. The club claims that the payments corresponded to arbitral consultancy reports, a reason not yet accredited by the parties.

Months ago, Albert Soler, Josep María Bartomeu, Sandro Rosell, Óscar Grau and the former Catalan referee Xavier Estrada Fernández filed an appeal against the extension of the case, which was denied by the Provincial Court.

Laporta, Luis Enrique and Valverde: 'key' testimonies to close the investigation

Thus, the president of Barça and the current coaches of Paris Saint-Germain and Athletic Club, respectively, must go on Tuesday, November 25 to the Court of Instruction number 1 at 9:50 (Valverde), 10:45 (Luis Enrique) and 11:30 (Laporta) to answer the questions of the judge.

According to Alejandra Gil's argument, the testimonies collected that day could give reasons to carry out practices such as "tracing the money" or other interrogations of people involved with the payments made by Barcelona for 17 years to Enríquez Negreira.

This is as long as the statements of Laporta, Luis Enrique and Valverde do not evidence the elaboration and delivery of the technical reports referred to by the club.

The former vice president of the CTA had decision-making power in the arbitral designations of First and Second Division matches, as well as in promotions and demotions of the referees and the preparation of the staff of the arbitral body of LaLiga.

In that sense, the cause of the 'Negreira case' seeks to demonstrate whether FC Barcelona and José María Enríquez Negreira are really guilty of crimes such as sports corruption and disloyal administration, among other related particulars. This would entail from economic fines and prison sentences to sports sanctions at domestic and continental level.