Like a lazy giant who finds it hard to get up, many of the actors who orbit around the Negreira case in the media have begun to react a week after the scandal broke out. Little by little, even though in some cases it is with a small mouth, they begin to ask Barcelona for responsibilities and explanations, the great one indicated by the recurring payments to the former vice president of the referees.
Two communiqués from Sevilla and Espanyol caused Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, to give a change of direction on Monday in which he went from a lukewarm initial analysis to a much harsher response. He affirmed that his hand will not tremble in going to European instances if the Prosecutor’s Office does not act, and demanded that Joan Laporta resign if he did not give a convincing answer to the reason for these remunerations.
That statement came after separate meetings with club representatives on division boards. There, between the walls of the La Liga headquarters, two opposing positions were staged. On the one hand, the bulk of the First and Second teams, in favor of issuing a joint statement of rejection that ended up being published after the meeting of the Delegate Commission. That note, in which they showed their repudiation and deep concern for a case that they consider “of the utmost gravity” and showed their support for the actions initiated by La Liga, received the unanimous support of all the clubs except for two. In the first place, of course, Barcelona. And secondly, Real Madrid.
The entity chaired by Florentino Perez He continues without making a public statement on a matter that, no matter how you look at it, touches him directly. In any case, the Delegate Commission made it clear that its representative at the division board meeting objected to adhering to a common statement. The reasons for this have not been disclosed.
The silence of Real Madrid is one of the most resounding so far. So was the Government, but yesterday José Manuel Franco, president of the Higher Sports Council, ended up pronouncing. He didn’t add too much. He insisted that the Prosecutor’s Office and the Tax Agency must be allowed to work and the discredit that cases like this can have for Spanish football. He also did not rule out that the CSD ends up appearing in a possible criminal case.
More exit. No opinion is known Angel Maria Villar ni de Victoriano Sanchez Arminiopresidents of the Spanish Federation and the Technical Committee of Referees during the period in which the payments were allegedly made to Enríquez Negreira. It is known what Luis Rubiales and Luis Medina Cantalejo, the successors in those respective positions, think. The first has insisted on disengaging, emphasizing that the first measure he took upon becoming president of the RFEF was to dismiss the leadership of the CTA. The president has made himself available to the Prosecutor’s Office, but he does not want to become the protagonist of this matter, as he demonstrated yesterday by not appearing before the media after the working meeting of the candidates to host the 2030 World Cup. Medina Cantalejo, for his part , has insisted on defending the honor of the arbitrators. According to him, they did not receive instructions from Enríquez, of whom he said he did not know exactly what his mission was during his years as vice president.
Enríquez’s defense, by the way, presented a medical report yesterday alleging that the former referee suffers from Alzheimer’s that could exempt him from testifying, and could even allow him to avoid a future criminal case, as announced by ‘El Español’.
International organizations also remain to speak. The boiling point of the scandal has coincided with the visit to Madrid of Alexander Ceferin, president of UEFA, who has not had any public intervention. In principle, it will wait for the actions of the Spanish Justice, and based on these resolutions it could also activate an administrative cause through FIFA, the final result of which could end with the expulsion of Barcelona from European competitions.