LaLiga chief Javier Tebas has said Barcelona president Joan Laporta should resign if he is unable to offer a reasonable explanation regarding payments made to a former senior referee.
It was revealed last week that Barca paid over €1.3 million to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira — who was the vice president on the referee’s committee at the time — between 2016 and 2018, when Josep Maria Bartomeu was the club’s president.
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However, while those are the only payments being investigated by the tax office, it has also been disclosed that Barca paid Negreira over €7m dating back to at least 2003 spanning multiple presidencies. Laporta’s first spell in office was between 2003 and 2010.
Barca have not denied the payments and said they were for “technical reports” on refereeing, which they claim is commonplace in football, while Laporta has merely questioned the timing of the leaks.
“If he does not explain what they were paying for, I think he should step down,” Tebas said on a call with reporters when asked if Laporta should resign.
“He has not offered a reasonable explanation for these payments. In Barca’s statement, it was as if every football club does the same. It is evident they do not. One thing is to have ex-referees [offering advice]; another is to have ex-referees who are on the refereeing committee.
