UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin comments on ‘extremely serious’ Barcelona Negreira situation

Barcelona remain under the spotlight for their the involvement in the Negreira Case, as the world continues to await both further results of the anti-corruption investigation, and Barcelona’s explanation of it. They are unlikely to face sporting sanctions in Spain, but they could well receive punishment from UEFA – President Aleksander Ceferin sounded deeply concerned by the reporting too.

Speaking to Slovenian paper Ekipa, Ceferin explained that it was up there with the most concerning he had seen in the game. Sport carried his comments.

“I have been informed and the situation is extremely serious. It is so serious that, in my opinion, it is one of the most serious in football that I have seen.”

He went on to say that while he would not comment further on the matter, but did make a point of saying that they were not bound by the same statute of limitations as La Liga are.

“I cannot comment directly on this for two reasons. Firstly, because we have an independent disciplinary committee in charge of it. And secondly, because I have not dealt with this matter in detail.”

“At the level of the Spanish League, the matter is prescribed and cannot have competitive consequences. The proceedings are ongoing at the level of the Spanish civil prosecutor’s office. But as far as UEFA is concerned, there is nothing time-barred.”

He would also take a dig at the Superleague, pointing out that while Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid had posed themselves as the saviours of football, two of them are facing serious legal issues.

Certainly given the disagreements between UEFA and Barcelona on that issue, they will have no good side to appeal to should they need to do so.