2023-06-19 13:14:45
The media is known to everyone Negreira case that is fueling the integrity and transparency of Spanish football and, especially, the F.C. Barcelona. The Barcelona group could be criminally responsible as a consequence of the provisions of article 31 bis of the Penal Code, which includes the criminal liability of legal persons.
What sanctions could FC Barcelona face?
As a consequence of a possible conviction, FC Barcelona could face the catalog of sanctions established in article 33.7 of the Penal Code, which vary from a simple MORE until the dissolution of the clubgoing through the suspension of its activity or the closure of the stadium.
It is clear that the matter is of considerable gravity. However, the Catalan team could exempt from criminal responsibility in case you manage to prove the existence and correct implementation of your regulatory compliance plans.
What benefits could the correct implementation of a Compliance plan bring to FC Barcelona?
The main purpose of a plan de compliance consists of the establishment and implementation of measures and controls necessary to prevent and avoid any type of illegal activity in a club. However, these plans are also especially useful in the event that the commission of the crime could not have been avoided, since can serve as defense or extenuationby virtue of the provisions of articles 31.2 bis and 31 quater of the Penal Code.
FC Barcelona has the figure of ‘Chief Compliance Officer’as well as with a Control and Transparency Commission and with a complaints channel through which all types of communications, queries or complaints related to possible infringements of both internal regulations and applicable legislation are received and dealt with. In addition, article 4.7 of its Ethical code refers to the sports fraud preventionregarding manipulation of sports competitions, bribery of sports professionals, as well as sports organizations.
What requirements would have to be met for the Catalan team to be exempt from criminal liability?
So that the culé team can stay exempt from liabilityit is necessary that the requirements established in article 31.2 bis of the Penal Codebeing necessary that: the club have an organization and management model that includes control measures to prevent this type of crime, that the supervision of these plans be entrusted to an autonomous body, that those who allegedly have committed these crimes have done so done by fraudulently avoiding these models of organization and prevention and, lastly, that there has not been an omission or insufficient exercise of supervision, surveillance and control functions by the body to which control has been entrusted.
Therefore, if the F.C. Barcelona succeeds in demonstrating that compliment the legally established requirementswould stay exempt from a possible penalty of those mentioned above. It should be noted that, in the hypothetical case in which the courts consider that the requirements for the aforementioned defense to be granted have not been met, the sanction imposed could be attenuated and, in my opinion, in no case could there be a possible dissolution of the club or a suspension of its activity, as predicted by some media.
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