Barcelona have been fighting to clear their name in the Negreira case investigation for much of the last year, and on Friday, it was revealed that they’ve managed to secure a small victory in their battle.
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News of Barcelona’s alleged relationship with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), first broke 15 months ago, and the matter has been investigated by Spanish authorities since last Autumn. Joan Laporta has been firm on his belief that the Catalan giants have committed no wrongdoing, and now he himself has been exonerated of any alleged criminal liability during his first tenure as president, as revealed by MD.
Alongside Laporta, the members of the board from the period between 2003 and 2010 have been cleared. Section 21 of the Court of Barcelona has upheld the appeals that were filed, one of which came from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, who stated that the statute of limitations has expired in regards to those from Laporta’s first presidency. Real Madrid had opposed these appeals, as did La Liga.