UEFA has confirmed it is investigating Barcelona over payments allegedly made in exchange for decisions in favor of the referee - and the La Liga giants could end up being banned from the Champions League if they are banned. convicted of breaking the rules.
The La Liga giants have been accused by a Catalan court of 'corruption' and 'faking business records' after prosecutors allege they paid 8.4m euros (£7.4m) for a former vice president of the Spanish arbitration committee and his company.
Barca denies any wrongdoing but admits that payments were made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira and his company Dasnil 95 between 2001 and 2018. The club said the company was paid with as a consultant who compiles the video arbitration report "for the purpose of completing the information required by the technical staff." Negreira, 77, left his position as vice president in 2018.
But prosecutors said otherwise, prompting European football's governing body to confirm that an investigation has now been opened. No evidence that referees or individual matches were actually affected has been published.
In a statement, UEFA said:
"The Ethics and Disciplinary Ombudsman has been appointed to carry out an investigation into a possible breach of the UEFA legal framework by FC Barcelona in relation to the so-called 'Caso Negreira'."
This follows La Liga chief Javier Tebas, saying the club's current president Joan Laporta must step down if the allegations are proven, while rivals Real Madrid have offered to stand trial "to protect protect its legitimate interests...[as one of] related parties".
"The majority of La Liga clubs have expressed deep concern over this matter, which they consider the most serious," a La Liga statement was released last month.
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The Real Madrid winger is not having the best time in the Spanish capital
Eden Hazard's market value plummets as he faces the worst moments of his career
Eden Hazard looks up at the Madrid sky and makes a promise to the fans as he celebrates his team's 14th Champions League win at the Santiago Bernabeu in January.
"Madridistas, I've been here three years with a lot of injuries, with a lot of things going on... But next year I'll give it all to you," he promised.
His words clearly moved his teammates and received a standing ovation from the majority of the Real Madrid team, whose optimism about their return to form was much higher. The previous year is starting to wane.
The Belgian 'Number 10' arrives at Real Madrid as the most expensive signing in history (€100m) and after almost 4 years, Hazard is experiencing one of the worst moments of his entire career his professional. His limited game time this season (296 minutes between Champions League, League and Cup campaigns) has caused his market value to plummet.
At the age of 32, the Belgian's value has bottomed out at 5 million after dropping by 2.5 million in the latest Transfermarkt update.
When he signed with the European giant, his market value was 150 million euros.
Real Madrid's horrifying statistics
"I've always said, I'll get back to the way it was by chaining matches and minutes," he said after the match against the Belgian national team.
Hazard's reality at Real Madrid paints a different picture. This season, the season in which Eden has promised his revival, he played just 296 minutes:
131' in Champions League (one goal and one assist), 98' in La Liga and 67' in Copa del Rey.
The Belgian winger has gone 20 consecutive games without playing a minute for Real Madrid (he missed six games due to injury).
In an interview with RTBF in Belgium, Hazard talked about his current situation at Real Madrid.
"I want to have fun on the pitch," said Hazard. "Training is good, but it's the matches that keep us alive. "I hope I can contribute something and hope that the coach continues to believe in me.
"We'll see if I can play a few minutes at the end of the season. It's up to me to show him in training that he can count on me."
Hazard's considerable salary
As reported by Deportes CUATRO, the Belgian star earns a salary of 15 million euros per season, making him the highest-paid player in La Liga, ahead of Lewandowski, Griezmann and Benzema.
His salary amounts to 1.25 million euros per month, 292,000 euros per week and about 42,000 euros per day.
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