A company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain's Referee Committee, allegedly received fees of more than €8 million from five-times European champions Barcelona ©Twitter

FC Barcelona are facing corruption charges over payments that were allegedly handed to former vice-president of Spain's Referees Committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

It has been claimed that the 26 La Liga champions and five-time European Cup winners Barcelona paid Negreira and a company owned by him a fee in the total of €8.4 million (£7.4 million/$8.9 million) between 2001 and 2018.

The lawsuit target the club, along with former Presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, who were running the organisation during the period of the payments.

The Barcelona public prosecutor office have indicted the former Presidents and Negreira for "corruption", "breach of trust" and "false business records".

"FC Barcelona obtained and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira so that, in his capacity as vice-president of the Technical Arbitral Committee and in exchange for money, the latter carries out actions tending to benefit FC Barcelona in decisions by the referees," said the public prosecutor's office, according to BBC Sport.

Joan Laporta, in his second spell as President of FC Barcelona, has denied that the club ever bribed Spanish referees ©Getty Images
Joan Laporta, in his second spell as President of FC Barcelona, has denied that the club ever bribed Spanish referees ©Getty Images

Current President Joan Laporta, currently in his second spell leading the club, has denied that they ever bribed referees and ever intended to bribe them, as he launched a internal investigation himself.

La Liga chief executive Javier Tebas claimed that Laporta should resign if he cannot explain the payments, which Laporta is unwilling to do.

The investigation of the situation began after tax authorities were looking into payments made to Negreira's company Dasnil 95, according to Ser Catalunya, a radio station in Spain.

The payments were allegedly €1.4 million (£1.2 million/$1.5 million) from 2016 to 2018.

Negreira himself was paid €7 million (£6.2 million/$7.5 million), it has been claimed.

The payments stopped when Negreira left his role in 2018.

Barcelona recognised the payments made to Dasnil 95 as external technical consultation to help coaches gather videos related to referees.

Xavi, an eight-time La Liga champion with Barcelona and current head coach, has claimed that he had no knowledge of the club trying to bribe referees ©Getty Images
Xavi, an eight-time La Liga champion with Barcelona and current head coach, has claimed that he had no knowledge of the club trying to bribe referees ©Getty Images

Barcelona coach and former star Xavi, who played a record 767 games for Barcelona and was part of eight La Liga-winning sides, claimed he had no knowledge of the payments, believing that they never had an unfair advantage.

"I always wanted to win, but fairly," he said.

"If I thought we were cheating I'd have gone home."