Tebas not convinced by Laporta’s Negreira case explanations: “It is incomprehensible”

Speaking at a press conference after the La Liga Assembly in Madrid, Javier Tebas has claimed that he was not convinced by the explanation provided by Barcelona president Joan Laporta over the ‘Negreira case’.

Barcelona have been accused of attempting to influence match officials after it emerged that the club had made payments of over €7 million to Enriquez Negreira – the former Vice-President of the Referees’ Technical Committee – between 2001 and 2018.

No evidence has been found to suggest there was any wrongdoing on the club’s part, with Laporta repeatedly insisting that the payments were scout reports on players and technical reports on referees.

Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, who has been a very vocal opposition to Barcelona, had called on Laporta to provide an explanation on the case during the assembly today.

And, he has now revealed that the Barça supremo spoke for 20 minutes during the event, but repeated pretty much what he had said during his press conference earlier this week. Furthermore, Tebas added that he does not think Laporta convinced anyone by his explanation.

“He said the same thing as in the press conference. It was the same, that the payments were for arbitration advice. Personally, I have already told him that I don’t think he was convincing with his explanations. I have been saying that for several days,” Tebas said.

“It is incomprehensible that Barça was paying the vice-president of the referees for so many years. We have asked the investigating court to include Negreira’s son as a person under investigation.”

“I don’t think Barcelona bought referees, but there are indications that the payments were intended to influence. The mere intention can be punishable conduct,” he added.

It is no secret that there is no love lost between Tebas and Laporta, with the pair constantly trading shots at each other. Talking about their meeting and interaction today, the former said: “When you are close, the tone is lowered a level. Both mine and his.”

Explaining the document that he submitted to the prosecutor’s office against Barcelona, he added: “I have already explained that the documents I provided are not false, they were in Negreira’s safe. Contreras was the one who collected the documents.

“And one of them included names like Sandro or Josep Maria. We provided them because we thought it was too much of a coincidence. If it is accredited that they don’t correspond, then perfect.”

Responding to the issue between Barcelona and Real Madrid as they traded barbs about who is the ‘regime team’, Tebas said: “It reminds me of when I was fifteen and argued with my friends. Attention has been diverted from important issues.”

During his presser, Laporta had called Tebas ‘irresponsible’ for his constant comments in the media against Barcelona. When asked if there had been any self-criticism by both parties, the La Liga head honcho said:

“There has been no self-criticism on their part. We didn’t have to do it ourselves. I explained to him why I was not irresponsible. The decision of the clubs was taken in a delegated commission.

“We are not talking about a one-off issue, we are talking about 18 years and with many presidents involved. To lower the tone would be a mistake. Any indication of corruption must be investigated.”

On the explanations that Laporta had given and what was said by other La Liga clubs, Tebas revealed: “It was not a press conference. Miguel Ángel Gil [Atletico CEO] and ten or twelve clubs intervened. Real Madrid has not intervened.”

Dismissing the controversial video Real Madrid had posted to target Barcelona as a diversion, he said: “La Liga has nothing to say about it. I think it was a diversion of attention. It doesn’t contribute any more than what Laporta said at the press conference. It doesn’t matter which team Franco supported.”

On his communication with Laporta, Tebas said: “With Barça, there has always been communication, maybe not with Laporta. He said I hadn’t called him. He was the one who should have called. It was FC Barcelona who committed the irregularity. We always have conversations with all clubs. We have spoken for two minutes.”

Tebas had previously asked for Laporta’s resignation after the Negreira case came to light. And it seems like his stance on the matter has not changed, as he said: “I think the same as before. These statements were made at that time and I still think the same. Things have not been cleared up and further investigation is needed.”

When asked if any other La Liga club had asked Laporta to resign, he replied: “No club has asked for Laporta’s resignation. For me, things have not been clarified, but it was not a test. It was not an interrogation. Explanations have been asked for with the utmost politeness. The doubts have not been resolved.”

On his anger towards the Barcelona president, Tebas said: “It has waned. We have to recognise that he has come and shown his face. He hasn’t been convincing, but he has reduced the anger. We have to appreciate that a big club comes to give explanations”.

Source: La Liga YouTube