Ex-referee claims vice-president at heart of Barcelona corruption probe threatened him over phone

Former La Liga referee Xavier Estrada Fernandez has claimed that he was threatened by former Vice President of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. The latter is at the heart of a corruption scandal that has tarnished the image of Spanish football in recent years.

Enriquez Negreira was paid between 6-7 million euros for a period of 17 years by Barcelona between 2001 and 2018, when he was fired by the CTA. Barcelona has been accused of bribery and corruption, but they have not yet been guilty of anything, and they have denied any wrongdoing.

Estrada Fernandez, who refereed for 17 years professionally, including 12 years in La Liga between 2009 and 2021, published a book on the matter titled “The Truth About Negreira” this week, in which he claims that he He was threatened by his former boss. phone call

“Negreira had all the power. Being the Vice President of Referees for so many years, he had all the information of the referees. He could designate the relegations, the promotions and who officiated the games. When he appointed me as a international referee, he called me to ask for my assistant team. You have to understand that I came from scratch and I did it only because of the passion for refereeing. When something like this happens to you, you think about many things.”

The CTA, mainly through the president Luis Medina Cantalejo, denied this slave girl he had all the power of decision, stating that his role was mostly decorative. Estrada contested that, saying there was a clear difference between his mandate and that of his successor Carlos Velasco Carballo.

“It is obvious that Negreira controlled the promotions and relegations. Before the arrival of Velasco Carballo, the list was by score. Then it was in alphabetical order and that score was not visible.”

However, he said AS Diary that he did not believe that the referees had been corrupted in their office, despite Negreira's threats.

“Here we must distinguish between the payments of a club to a vice-president and the work of the referees. When the case exploded, I began to interweave the information, connect the dots with what others had said, and try to defend the honor of the group. There is a figure here (around which it turns) which is that of the member of the assembly.”

Finally, he claimed that his former colleagues were keeping quiet out of fear.

“Of course, active referees are afraid to speak. How are they not afraid if the president of the arbitration delegation received the request of my boss.

The case is still investigated by the police and the state prosecution, as they gather evidence to bring the matter to trial.