UEFA warns Barcelona that Negreira case is 'extremely serious'

As UEFA continues to investigate Barcelona and the Negreira referee case, the governing body warned the club this is extremely serious. Aleksander Čeferin, the UEFA President said it is one of gravest topics in the world of soccer that he has seen.

Recently, UEFA commissioned an independent investigation on the referee case at Barcelona. However, Ceferin himself could not comment on the situation in order to avoid impacting any decisions and analysis.

In LaLiga, the case is, more or less, wrapped up. An investigation found there were no obvious links that Barcelona’s payments to Negreira impacted on-field decisions. Instead, it was more likely to be for analysis and referee advice, as Barcelona previously stated. In fact, Barcelona admitted to paying Negreira, but claimed it was well within the rules to do so. The Catalan club argued other teams do the same.

However, the Barcelona case with Negreira that is undergoing investigation from UEFA took something of a turn on Monday. There are reports that Javier Tebas, the LaLiga President, used false evidence against Barcelona to heighten the case. La Vanguardia, a news outlet with headquarters in Barcelona, claims the evidence Tebas submitted had no correlation to the Negreira case. In response, Barcelona called for Tebas to step down from his position as President of LaLiga.

Interestingly, Tebas called for Joan Laporta, President of Barcelona, to do the same in the beginning stages of the case.

UEFA could punish Barcelona over Negreira case

While LaLiga asserted no punishments, there is still the chance that UEFA’s investigation can lead to ramifications for Barcelona. And, if Ceferin’s estimate over the severity of the case is warranted, the punishments can be harsh.

Despite Barcelona’s pace to finish atop LaLiga this season, the club could miss out on the UEFA Champions League via suspension based on what UEFA finds in its investigation. According to the UEFA rules, any team associated with match fixing earns a ban.

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