UEFA Wants Barcelona Negreira Case to Be Quick Process So Final Sanction Decision Can Be Made

• UEFA are pushing for the investigations into the Barcelona refereeing scandal to be concluded speedily
• The European governing body has opened an investigation bribery and corruption charges the club faces
• Barcelona have been accused of paying a former senior refereeing official in Spain to sway decisions

UEFA are paying keen attention to the controversies surrounding Barcelona after allegations of bribery and corruption were made against the Catalan club.

Barca are under investigation by the European governing body after they were accused of making payments to former vice-president of the refereeing committee in Spain, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

According to Marca, UEFA wants the process to be quick in order to make a final decision in June, regarding Barcelona's future and status for the European competitions of next season.

Once prosecutors conclude their investigations, La Blaugrana risked being banned from the UEFA Champions League for multiple seasons if they are found guilty of the allegations.

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The football body reportedly does not want the process to be delayed because they know Barcelona will approach the UEFA Court of Appeal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), to reduce a potential sanction or seek temporary measures that will allow them to compete in the 2023/24 season.

Ceferin on Barcelona referee scandal

Meanwhile, according to UEFA's president Aleksander Ceferin, Barcelona's refereeing scandal is one of the most serious incidents he has witnessed in football since he became involved in the sport, SuperSport reports.

The Catalan giants allegedly paid €7.3 million to firms owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, then-vice president of the Spanish Football Association's refereeing committee, over a period from 2001 and 2018.

Barcelona has since denied any wrongdoing in a statement in February, admitting only that the club had paid an external consultant who provided technical reports on professional refereeing.

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Barcelona confident of avoiding ban

Meanwhile, Sports Brief reported the Catalans are seemingly unperturbed by news that UEFA might ban Barcelona from the Champions League.

The football body had threatened to throw the club out of its competitions after it opened its own investigation into the Negreira allegations.

It was claimed that Barcelona made several payments to the former vice-president of Spain's refereeing committee, for information and analyses.