Barcelona is being charged with suspected bribery for allegedly paying more than €7 million to companies linked to former refereeing committee vice president José María Enríquez Negreira, according to ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.
Former Barcelona presidents Josep María Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell and Negreira and his son, Javier Enríquez Romero, are also being charged with suspected bribery, according to ESPN.
A complaint was initially filed against Barcelona, the club's former presidents and Negreira in Spanish court in March, and an investigation was opened into the alleged payments. The club was previously charged with "alleged corruption in sport, corruption in business, false administration and the falsification of commercial documents," according to ESPN.
Spanish police raided the Spanish Technical Committee of Referees headquarters on Thursday as part of the investigation into the alleged payments after documentation it requested was not sent, according to BBC Sport.
Barcelona allegedly paid companies linked to Negreira more than €7 million between 2001 and 2018 while he was the vice president of the refereeing committee after previously serving as a referee in La Liga.
Barcelona's former presidents and Negreira allegedly had an agreement stating "he would carry out actions aimed at favoring Barca in the decision-making of the referees in the matches played by the club and thus in the results of the competitions."
Bartomeu served as president of the club from 2014 until he resigned from his position in 2020. Rosell was at the helm from 2010 to 2014.
The club's current president, Joan Laporta, was elected to replace Bartomeu in 2021. He has previously stated that the payments to Negreira's companies were for "technical reports about referees."
Laporta has also denied that Barcelona has ever bought off referees.
"You know my opinion," Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez said Thursday. "I have never had the feeling that the club have benefitted from refereeing. Never.
"I don't have time to reflect on much more than that, I'm focused on sporting issues. Next week there will be another Negreira story, in 15 days another and then more a month."
Barcelona currently sit third in La Liga with a 5-2-0 record behind Girona and Real Madrid.
