Barcelona
Amid allegations of corruption to “influence referees”, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta on Monday categorically denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the side “have never done anything with intentions of taking a sporting advantage in a competition”.
Speaking at a press conference at the club’s Camp Nou stadium, Laporta maintained that his club was one with “values” and while they liked to wanted to win, it was through fair play and on their own merit.
“We are an institution of values,” the Barca president said, “We like to win by playing well.
That is how we win. We don’t like to win because we had help from the referees.”
The remarks came amidst corruption charges against the Catalan club by Spanish prosecutors last month. Earlier this year, Spanish authorities uncovered payments of more than €7.3 million ($7.8 million) to a company owned by a former refereeing chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Referring to the rumours as a “smear campaign”, Laporta said: “Never has a campaign against Bacra paid off. Barcelona continues to be a point of reference in the world of sports and Barcelona continues to be loved and admired by millions of Catalans and millions of people around the world.”
“Basically, it is an orchestrated campaign to destroy the reputation of FC Barcelona”.
