In March, UEFA launched an investigation into the Negreira case against Barcelona. The body opened a dossier to study this controversial episode in depth and this Thursday, ABC newspaper reports that the two inspectors, Jean Samuel Leuba and Mirjam Koller, concluded that the Catalan club should be sanctioned without Champions League football.
It will now be Ceferin, with the reports drawn up by the two inspectors from the body’s ethics and disciplinary department, who will have the final say.
The UEFA president is debating whether to open proceedings or leave Barcelona out of Europe for a year.
It is worth remembering that the organisation can sanction the Catalan club for one season without the need for a court ruling. The text of the Swiss inspector is particularly harsh, according to the newspaper, which sees indications of activity aimed at organising or influencing the outcome of matches.
UEFA has always been in favour of a speedy process and has even set June as the deadline for a final decision. Therefore, a final decision is expected in the next few days.
LaLiga on alert
If, in the end, Ceferin heeds the reports of the UEFA inspectors and sanctions Barcelona, it would be a punishment focused only on the Catalan club, so LaLiga would not be affected in principle. In this way, one place would be moved and Villarreal would now be the team that occupies it.
It should be remembered that the scandal erupted due to Barcelona‘s payment of 7.5 million euros between 2001 and 2018 to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, at the time vice-president of the CTA
