There has been a lot of ink spent in writing about the alleged bribery scandal involving Barcelona and former chairman of the Spanish Referee Committee, José María Enríquez Negreira. Now, things are about to get even more complicated for the Catalan side, as UEFA have started a new investigation on this matter, which could lead into massive sanctiions for the La Liga club.
According to a report initially published by As, UEFA have asked La Liga for all the documents in this case. The main goal to reach by football's governing body in Europe is to determine any legal breaches or attempts to influence the outcome of a football match by the Blaugrana club.
"In accordance with Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have today been appointed to conduct an investigation regarding a potential violation of UEFA's legal framework by FC Barcelona in connection with the so-called 'Caso Negreira'. Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course," the entity revealed in a brief press release.
As things stand, Barcelona will have to prove that their intentions did not have anything to do with trying to influence the outcome of a match. If they fail to do so, UEFA could opt to ban the club from European competitions for a limited time, which could be the most harsh sanction the team could face.
Barcelona's situation is similar to the one Juventus is facing right now, as both European giants could be left out of European tournaments due to their distinct breaches of UEFA's laws. Juventus' case has to do with a failure to report the right income in a number of years, while Barcelona's ban could come if the alleged payments had an intention to influence their games in La Liga for over 20 years.
