UEFA opens investigation into Barcelona’s alleged improper payments! 

Spanish press reports revealed that the European Football Association (UEFA), European soccer’s governing body, has opened an investigation into alleged improper payments made by FC Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira, a former leading refereeing official in Spain. According to Mundo Deportivo newspaper, UEFA will open a disciplinary file against FC Barcelona, but it is conditional on the judicial results in Spain, which is investigating the Negrera case. The newspaper indicated that if the Catalan club is excluded from the Champions League next season, it can be canceled through the TASS court, in the absence of a judicial decision in Spain against Barcelona. Earlier, the Catalan club was charged by the Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office with “continued corruption between individuals in the sports field,” in addition to other charges in relation to an alleged payment scandal that rocked Spanish soccer between 2001 and 2018.