2024-09-09 07:54:30
Sports Minister Andrés Guschmer, in an interview with the media outlet ‘Jugada – Primicias’, stated that he is convinced that what had to happen at Barcelona SC happened: that elections will finally be called so that members can hold an assembly and elect the new board of directors.
However, he believes that Antonio Alvarez has some personal problem with him and that he has taken an “emotional stance” that “surprises” him. He also clarified that from the Ministry of Sports: “We do not want to waste another minute explaining and rubbing in the fact that the ministry was right, but rather applaud the decision of the Barcelona SC members.”
Below is part of the interview on the BSC topic, taken from the newspaper Primicias:
Finally, there will be elections at Barcelona SC, did what was supposed to happen happen?
«We do not want to look back. We said in January that the Sports Law had to be complied with. However, what they were doing was blaming the Ministry in order to push Barcelona SC to the edge and play with the pressure of time. Three months have passed and that has indeed happened. We do not want to waste another minute explaining and rubbing in the fact that the Ministry was right, but rather applaud the decision of the Barcelona SC members, who have given their club the institutionality of being able to democratically elect, through an election assembly, whoever they want to be its next president. The Ministry’s position was always the same. The Sports Law is very clear, the regulations too, and it had to be complied with.»
Should Barcelona SC reform its statutes anyway?
«In 2020, all clubs were ordered to reform their statutes and of course they have to do so, because that was one of the key points in this. Barcelona SC claimed that a statute approved in 2014 was what allowed them to elect a board of directors without an election assembly.»
And he has to do it before the new elections?
«They have to comply with the requirements that the Ministry asks of them. They will have to do so, but as long as they do not break the norm, the regulation and the law, they will be able to have the electoral process without any problem. If Barcelona SC complies with all the documentation and all the requirements, it will be able to register its board of directors.»
What do you think of Antonio Alvarez?
«He must be a very passionate fan of his club. I received him in this very office. I think he has been demonstrating his commitment and the love he has for his team, through tangible actions such as hiring players and strengthening the team. It was always said that he was a member of Barcelona SC, brother of Aquiles when he was on the board, that he knows a lot about football and that he was one of the great references in terms of the sports advice they received every year. That must be one of his strengths, because no one can deny that Barcelona SC has put together a great team. However, he has taken an emotional stance that surprises me. Not only because of the visibility he has as a member, because he is the brother of the mayor, but because of his constant accusations that this has been a dedicated issue, that it is a political strategy, that this ministry has not done its job and many other disqualifications. It seems to me that, from the point of view of the emotional maturity of a member who has that visibility, probably, because of his youth, in a few years, perhaps, he will see that they could have been unnecessary.»
Did Antonio Alvarez cross the line?
«He said things that I would never say and insults that I would never have. But that is a question that should be asked of them. Maybe they will say no, because they did not do it once, but on several occasions. But I repeat, we are not here to get involved in any fight. It takes two to fight and the position that the Ministry always had was completely professional, technical, legal, dispassionate. We dealt with the Barcelona SC issue, as we dealt with Deportivo Quito, El Nacional or any other. Here the law is for everyone to comply with.»
Do you have any personal problems with Antonio Alvarez?
«I have absolutely no quarrel with anyone. Everything started with a different attitude, with different dialogues, with a different approach. And when they realized that, unfortunately, our position was in accordance with the law and that we also rejected the different protection actions that were presented by partners outside the list, at least, but validated by those who wanted to be leaders of Barcelona SC, that’s when a rift began to open. We never took it to a personal issue, but evidently, you only have to read the concepts that they have given to realize that they do have something personal and a media campaign was orchestrated against the Minister of Sports, his actions, his capabilities, his enabling documents and a lot of other things that were woven around the figure of the minister and that were born from this issue.»