MADRID: The Spanish soccer federation has joined the long list of entities deciding to take legal action against Barcelona in the corruption case.
Prosecutors last week formally accused Barcelona of alleged corruption, fraudulent management and falsification of documentation in regard to payments of millions of euros for more than a decade to a company that belonged to the vice president of the country’s refereeing committee.
A judge ordered the accusations to be investigated, and prosecutors specialized in anticorruption were handling the case.
Others siding against the club include the Spanish government, the Spanish league, Real Madrid and more clubs. They will all be accusing parties in the proceedings over the controversial payments that have shocked Spanish soccer.
The federation said on Thursday it sent a report to UEFA about why it was going against Barcelona. It said it has been contributing with authorities, and has started its own investigation.
It called for “serenity” in the world of soccer to “help reduce the tensions” surrounding the refereeing collective in Spain.
“This is not beneficial for soccer,” the federation said. “Justice requires time, and the alleged illegal actions must be proven.”
Barcelona’s payments became public last month. The club have denied wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying they paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.
Club president Joan Laporta said Barcelona were “the victim of a campaign to harm their honorability.”
Prosecutors said in court documents seen by the Associated Press that the payments by the club totaled up to 7.3 million euros ($7.7 million) from 2001-18. They said the “quantity was not justified because it was not foreseen in the statutes of the club nor approved by their general assembly (of club members).”
There is so far no evidence that referees or game results were actually influenced during the period in which Barcelona made the payments.
Spanish federation sides against Barcelona over payments
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Spanish federation sides against Barcelona over payments
- A judge ordered the accusations to be investigated, and prosecutors specialized in anticorruption were handling the case
- Others siding against the club include the Spanish government, the Spanish league, Real Madrid and more clubs
Bournemouth snap Liverpool’s unbeaten run to up pressure on Slot
- Goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez put the home side in a commanding position
- Defeat will intensify the scrutiny on Liverpool boss Arne Slot
BOURNEMOUTH, UK: Bournemouth ended Liverpool’s 13-game unbeaten run as Amine Adli’s 95th minute strike secured a thrilling 3-2 win for the Cherries on Saturday.
Goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez put the home side in a commanding position but Liverpool hit back through Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai to level.
However, Bournemouth won for just the second time in 15 matches after Adli fired in with virtually the last kick of the game.
Defeat will intensify the scrutiny on Liverpool boss Arne Slot with the Reds likely to fall outside of the Premier League’s top four after Sunday’s fixtures.
Slot, who guided Liverpool to Premier League glory last season, had steadied the ship after a run of nine defeats in 12 games earlier in the campaign.
But the Dutchman has attracted criticism for Liverpool’s uninspiring performances, even during their unbeaten run, and they are now winless in five league games.
The Reds put in a commanding performance to beat Marseille 3-0 and close in on the Champions League last 16 in midweek.
But they again struggled when faced with the rigours of breaking down a Premier League defense after gifting the Cherries a 2-0 lead.
The visitors dominated the ball throughout, but were made to pay for two defensive lapses in seven first-half minutes.
Van Dijk was too casual as he tried to flick Marcos Senesi’s ball over the top behind for a corner and Alex Scott pounced to cross for Evanilson to hammer home.
In trying to prevent the goal, Joe Gomez picked up an injury to further deplete Liverpool’s already threadbare options at center-back.
The visitors were down to 10 men as Wataru Endo waited to replace Gomez when Bournemouth doubled their lead.
Milos Kerkez was caught sleeping on his return to the Vitality Stadium to allow Jimenez to sneak in behind and slot in his first Bournemouth goal.
Van Dijk atoned for his previous error to begin the Liverpool fightback when he headed in Szoboszlai’s corner.
- Reward for positivity -
Andy Robertson replaced Kerkez at half-time despite being linked with a move to Tottenham before the transfer window closes in just over a week’s time.
Liverpool had little to show for their domination of the ball in the second period until Szoboszlai’s strike sparked a wild finale.
The Hungarian slotted a free-kick under the Marseille wall on Wednesday and this time used a flick from Cody Gakpo to work an angle to blast into the far corner.
Almost straight from kick-off, Liverpool needed Alisson Becker to produce a brilliant save from Ryan Christie to prevent Bournemouth retaking the lead.
Evanilson then wasted a glorious chance to win the game when the Brazilian slotted wide with just Alisson to beat.
Bournemouth could also have lost it when goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic made a fine save to prevent Florian Wirtz from finding the bottom corner.
But Andoni Iraola’s men were rewarded for going for the win when Adli smashed in from a narrow angle after Liverpool failed to clear a long throw.
Victory lifts Bournemouth up to 13th and 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
