Negreira refrains from testifying in Barca ref scandal court appearance
Former refereeing chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira declined to testify during his court appearance on Tuesday regarding the alleged Barcelona bribery scandal. Court sources informed AFP that the 78-year-old chose not to testify during the brief session in the Barcelona investigation court, following a summons by investigating judge Joaquin Aguirre.
Negreira's court appearance, initially set for February, was postponed twice at the request of his defense, citing his alleged dementia as the reason for his inability to testify.
Last year, Barcelona and several former directors, including the reelected current president Joan Laporta, faced bribery charges for alleged payments to Negreira.
Negreira served as the Spanish refereeing vice-president for 25 years.
According to the club, he purportedly received over seven million euros ($7.6 million) from Barcelona between 2001 and 2018 through companies allegedly producing refereeing reports.
Spanish prosecutors are investigating whether Barcelona's payments aimed to influence refereeing, an allegation denied by the Catalan club.
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