FC Barcelona Will Not Be Banned From Champions League Or Sanctioned By UEFA This Summer: Reports

FC Barcelona will not be banned from the Champions League or receive sanctions from European governing body UEFA
EFA
this summer, according to SPORT.

The Prosecutor’s Office has charged the Catalans with “continued corruption” for their involvement in the ‘Caso Negreira’ scandal, which saw them make payments to the Former Vice President of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018.

At a press conference on Monday, Barca president Joan Laporta again denied there had been any wrongdoing and attempted to explain that each payment was made for honest consulting work.

Later this week, he then traveled to Slovenia to speak with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin after the organization released a statement in March revealing that it had opened its own investigation because of a “potential violation” of its laws.

Laporta went to explain the case first hand and the findings from an internal report, according to SPORT, and left with the belief that UEFA will not hand down a punishment such as a potential ban from the Champions League next season as it will wait for the matter to be clarified in court before taking action.

Barca currently top La Liga by 11 points, and though their form has been poor recently, they are unlikely to throw the title away with a rock solid defense and should qualify for the next edition of Europe’s premier competition as Spanish champions.

A local court ruling is unlikely to come before the summer, so Barca should be free to play the competition in 2023/2024 which will bring in much-needed revenue through ticketing and television money.

If the report is accurate, this development might also help lure Lionel Messi back to Camp Nou after becoming a free agent on June 30 when his Paris Saint Germain contract expires.

Most signs point to a Prodigal Son return for the Argentine, who though forever linked emotionally and historically to the Blaugrana, might not wish to don his iconic ’10’ shirt for them without the chance to lift the big-eared trophy once more and equal generational rival Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally of five UCL wins.

Of course all this could be merely kicking the can down the road if Barca are later found guilty and UEFA slap them with sanctions in quick succession. Laporta and the club are adamant there has been no illegal activity on their behalf in relation to Negreira, however.