The Spanish judiciary summons Barcelona again in the Negrera case sports

The Spanish club Barcelona is facing a new chapter in the corruption case known in the media as the “Negrira case”, after the judge responsible for the investigation agreed to formally summon the Catalan club before the court.

Vice President Elena Forte is expected to appear before the judge, along with former President Juan Gaspart, who will be summoned to testify on February 6.

The case concerns financial payments made by Barcelona to Jose Maria Enriquez Negrera, former vice-president of the Spanish Referees Committee (CTA), amounting to approximately 7.3 million euros during the period from 2001 to 2018, in exchange for “advisory services in arbitration.”

According to what was reported by the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo”, the judge also ordered the club to hand over the original contracts signed with Negrera’s two companies: Dasnel 95 SL and Nilsad SCB, which received payments in exchange for providing alleged technical reports and arbitration consultations.

The judge also asked Barcelona to identify the technicians or employees who participated in those services, and to submit original documents and clips proving the nature of the consulting work provided during those years.

Anti-corruption maintains that payments to Negreira “began” during the presidency of Joan Gaspart and summons him as a witness along with another former referee who was also paid by Barça for “referee advice”, Ricardo Segura García. It will also declare Barça as a legal entity. pic.twitter.com/Lh56OiYerf

— Esteban Urreiztieta (@eurreiztieta) October 27, 2025

Giving testimony

The club’s former president, Juan Gaspart, who served as Barcelona president between 2000 and 2003, will testify as a witness, after stating in October 2023 that the club “did not commit any legal violations” in what is known as the Negrera case.

The current president, Joan Laporta, whose name was included in the investigation before being acquitted due to the statute of limitations dating back to his first term (2003/2010), is also scheduled to be heard next December.

Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde, former coaches of the club, will also be called to testify about the nature of these arbitration reports.

Justifications of the two former presidents

As for former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, they had previously confirmed that the payments were in exchange for “useful technical advisory services for the team’s coaches,” indicating that the goal was not to influence the results of the matches, but rather to improve the team’s performance by analyzing the performance of the referees.

Rosell defended his position by explaining that “the advisory service was at market price,” noting that each report was valued at only about 250 euros, “which is in no way sufficient to purchase arbitration.”

As the investigations continue and expand to include new figures, Negrera’s case appears to be one of the most sensitive files in Barcelona’s history, because of the possible repercussions it has on the club’s reputation and its legal position in Spain and Europe.