The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), José Manuel Franco, has confirmed this Monday that he will be presented as a private prosecution in the ‘Negreira case’. “Our intention is to personalizebut at the right time”, he assured in The Ana Rosa Program.
The leader recalled that they will do so when the Investigating Court admit the complaint against FC Barcelona, two of its former presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu, and the former directors of the Catalans, Oscar Grau and Albert Soler, general director of sports for the CSD until January 10.
Franco has also spoken about the latter’s involvement, assuring that “I don’t know if I knew it or not (the payments to Enríquez Negreira while he was vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees), sincerely”, and he recalled that at the time the investigation of the Prosecutor’s Office came to light, “Mr. Soler was no longer in the CSD”. A march that has ruled out that it occurred as a result of the arbitration scandal.
The president of the CSD has made it clear that the new Sports Law, in which Soler participated, “it is not made to measure for anyone”, and that the three-year statute of limitations for very serious offenses are “in line with what happens according to the Law on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector approved in 1992, and modified in 2015 without this having changed”. “What is done in the new law with respect to the previous one is to aggravate serious and minor infractions,” he assured.
Franco has shown himself concerned about Spanish sport as a result of what happened, “because of what it means to discredit football and Spanish sport, which enjoys great health and great prestige outside of Spain”, something that should not be “questioned on this issue”.
In addition, he has agreed with Manu Carreño that “A club does not pay the vice president of the referees like this for nothing”. For this reason, he has indicated that “it must be investigated” and has asked the blaugrana entity for “clarification”.
On the other hand, he explained that the Higher Sports Council has waited until Monday to confirm that they will appear in the case because “we have tried to be rigorous and coherent, and respect the times of the institutions”.
