“Politician Compelled to Withdraw Statements Regarding Barcelona in Light of Negreira Case Revelations”

Ramon Espinar, a former politician turned political commentator, has publicly retracted statements he made about Barcelona in the wake of revelations surrounding the Negreira case. Espinar, who previously held positions in the Spanish parliament and the Madrid general assembly, first as a member of the PSOE socialist party and later as part of the Podemos progressive party in Madrid, found himself at the center of controversy due to his comments.

In response to emerging reports related to the Negreira case, Espinar took to Twitter to make several remarks that were critical of Barcelona and its fans. Among these tweets, he sarcastically commented that “The referee was paid, but they were so good they would have won anyway,” and suggested that “The judge was paid but they would have won the case anyway.” Additionally, he alleged that Barcelona had “robbed titles” and “bought referees.”

However, on a Sunday morning, Espinar took a notable step by publicly retracting these statements in a follow-up tweet. He stated his intention to delete the aforementioned comments and expressed his lack of sufficient information to determine whether referees, match outcomes, or results had been influenced illicitly, through bribery, or by gaining unfair advantages.

Barcelona President Joan Laporta had previously made it clear that the club would take legal action against journalists or public figures who made unsubstantiated claims about the club. In this context, Espinar’s retraction marks a significant acknowledgment of the need for responsible and evidence-based discourse.

The Negreira case itself is currently the subject of a corruption investigation, with allegations of systemic corruption involving payments of €7 million to €8 million made to the former Vice-President of the Referees Technical Committee (CTA) over a 17-year period. Importantly, no evidence has been found to implicate Barcelona in any wrongdoing in connection with this case.