Barca risk UEFA ban

BARCELONA are facing a Champions League ban after it emerged the club paid millions of euros to companies linked to a Spanish refereeing official. Court documents have revealed that the five-time European champions paid ¤7.3million (£6.4 million) from 2001 to 2018 to two companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, DASNIL and NILSAT. Negreira is the former vice-president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee. Prosecutors in Spain have formally accused Barcelona of corruption, fraudulent management and falsification of business documents, and have stated their belief that the club maintained a relationship with Negreira to ensure ‘favourable decisions’ were made by referees. UEFA requested their own investigation yesterday, and the matter is being pursued by prosecutors in Spain. UEFA can ban teams from the Champions League for one season if they are found to be involved in match-fixing. No evidence has yet been published that shows referees or individual games were influenced. Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing, saying they paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions. Last week, former Barca directors claimed the payments were ‘an act of self-defence’.