FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Barcelona faced a real risk of being expelled from the Champions League due to the ongoing "Negreira" affair, according to reports.
The club is alleged to have been seriously threatened with relegation until president Joan Laporta carried out a strategic repositioning with UEFA, including publicly distancing himself from the European Super League project, which helped avoid the most severe sanctions. The scandal, which involves over €8m in payments made between 2001 and 2018 to companies linked to former vice-chairman of the Referees Committee, José María Enríquez Negreira, prompted a UEFA investigation in 2023.
At the time, officials also considered a one-year ban from European competition, pending a final court ruling, based on possible breaches of integrity rules. Recent developments saw Laporta testify as a witness, along with former coaches Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde, insisting that the payments were for legitimate refereeing reports and denying any influence on match results.
The case continues to evolve in a climate of heightened tension, with Real Madrid intensifying the pressure by demanding an extension of the investigation and calling it "the biggest scandal in the history of football."
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