Khaberni - Khaberni - Spanish media revealed a leaked video clip of the testimony of the president of Barcelona club, Joan Laporta, regarding the famous case known as "Negreira".
The "Mundo Deportivo" newspaper published details of the "Blaugrana" president's statement, clarifying that Joan Laporta vigorously defended the club's position in front of the judge handling the Negreira case during his appearance last Friday in the City of Justice in Barcelona as a witness..
She added: "In a session that lasted about 54 minutes, revealing details of the administration's position on payments made during previous periods to a person who held the position of vice-president of the Referees' Committee".
And it continued: "Only four days after the hearing, the audio recordings and photos related to Laporta’s testimony were publicly disclosed through Spanish media programs, concurrently with the publication of statements by former club coaches, namely Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde, who gave their testimonies remotely from Paris and Bilbao, about a period spanning from 2014 to 2020 during which these payments, that Barcelona claims were in exchange for consultancy reports related to refereeing, occurred."
Laporta, who presided over Barcelona between 2003 and 2010, emphasized that the club paid money for technical and analytical reports concerning referees, strongly denying any intention to influence competitions or gain an illicit sporting advantage. He considered that what the club is undergoing is a targeted campaign to tarnish its image during one of its most successful periods..
Laporta clarified in his statement that those reports were directed to the sports administration, indicating that he does not specifically know who was responsible for receiving them at that time, but he confirmed that the increased value of the payments over the years was probably due to a growing demand from the sports management due to the importance of these reports in their view..
Barcelona's president revealed that this relationship existed before his presidency, clarifying that he received this file as a legacy from the previous administration headed by Joan Gaspart, and that the reports, as far as he knew, were prepared by Javier Enriquez, son of José María Enriquez Negreira, benefiting from his father's experience as a former referee..
Laporta stated that as soon as he took office in 2003, he was informed about the existence of a consultancy service related to refereeing, which was considered beneficial for the sports sector, thus the club continued to use it. He emphasized that Barcelona at no time attempted to manipulate the competitions or influence their integrity, affirming that this is an undeniable and clear fact..
Laporta concluded his testimony by affirming that the history of Barcelona during that period cannot be erased, indicating that the club has become a global reference because of its style of play and the victories achieved on the field, and not for any reasons outside the sporting framework, considering that this period will remain a testament to the strength of the club's football project despite all the controversy..
