Barcelona’s Former Presidents Testify Over 7М Euro Referee Payments in Negreira Case

Key Takeaways:

• Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu appeared on Thursday before Barcelona’s 13th investigating court in connection with the Negreira case
• The investigation centres around over 7 million euros paid by Barcelona to former referee chief Enriquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018
• Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira has not testified, citing health concerns, while his son and other ex-club officials have already faced questioning

Background to the Negreira Case

A judicial inquiry intensified on Thursday as two former FC Barcelona presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, arrived at Barcelona’s 13th investigating court to give evidence regarding alleged improper payments to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice president of the Technical Referees Committee (CTA). The investigation aims to clarify why the club made payments amounting to more than 7 million euros to Negreira between 2001 and 2018.

🚨Última Hora🚨

👨‍⚖️El hijo de Negreira, Javier Enríquez, ya ha declarado sobre los pagos del Barcelona a su padre.

🗣️"He esperado para hablar con quien tenía que hablar. He defendido la verdad que conozco", aseguró a los medios de comunicación. pic.twitter.com/bTaHecOGU6

— Conexión Deportiva (@CDeportivaES) September 18, 2025

Court Proceedings and Appearances

Proceedings began with the arrivals of Albert Soler, Barcelona’s former sports sections manager, Javier Enriquez (son of Negreira), and former club CEO Oscar Grau, all of whom are included as defendants in the case. Sandro Rosell attended the hearing despite his doctor’s advice following recent surgery for a herniated disc only last week.

This latest sequence of hearings unfolds two and a half years after the initiation of the case, which was prompted by a public prosecutor’s request to investigate whether the 7.3 million euros received by Negreira from Barcelona may have influenced refereeing in favour of the club.

Status of the Accused and Statements

So far, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira himself has yet to appear in court. Although summoned by the judge in March of the previous year, his legal team argued that deteriorating dementia symptoms prevented meaningful testimony. He consequently chose to exercise his right not to testify, following an unsuccessful attempt to have himself excluded from the proceedings on health grounds.

Javier Enriquez, the son of Negreira and author of the bulk of more than 600 refereeing reports commissioned by the club, was the first to face questioning. According to FC Barcelona, these reports were intended to familiarise the team with referee profiles and to assess the impact of refereeing decisions on the club.

Key Moments from the Day in Court

After spending just over an hour inside the Courthouse, Javier Enriquez remarked: “I said what I had to say and to whom I had to say it.” Sandro Rosell, who was accompanied by his legal representative Pau Molins, offered no comments to waiting reporters as he departed, only requesting caution due to his post-surgery recovery.

Josep Maria Bartomeu made a brief statement upon his exit: “Today it became clear that many of the theories that have been expressed over the past years have been refuted.”