FC Barcelona Could Receive Champions League Ban From UEFA Before June: Reports

FC Barcelona could receive a UEFA
EFA
sanction such as being banned from the Champions League as early as June, AS has reported.

The Catalans have been charged with “continued corruption” for their part in the ‘Caso Negreira’ scandal, which saw them make payments to the Former Vice President of the Referees Committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

El Mundo reported that the payments ran from 2001 to 2018 and totaled more than $7 million. Barca have denied wrongdoing, and claim that the payments were made honestly for consultation work.

Shortly after the Prosecutor’s Office charged Barca, however, UEFA opened its own investigation for a “potential violation” of its laws.

UEFA wants to speed up the process of possibly punishing Barca according to AS, so that should it decide to hand down a sanction or a ban, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) can deal with the case swiftly if Barca appeal without the need to put precautionary measures in place.

The European football governing body does not want any hold ups that could effect the case dragging on and which would possibly affect its competitions in 2023/2024 such as the Champions League.

Leading La Liga by 12 points, Barca are set to qualify for the premier club competition as Spanish champions but could possibly be made to sit out its next edition if found guilty of wrongdoing.

Considering Barca’s financial woes, not playing in the Champions League would have grave economic ramifications in lost revenue which are usually provided through television, win bonus and gate money.

Simultaneously, however, if Barca are acquitted, they could make a complaint to UEFA that may force it to pay out millions in damages.

AS’ report comes after UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin conceded an interview to Epika in his homeland Slovenia and suggested that Barca were still open to punishment.

“There’s one thing I can say,” Ceferin explained, after refraining from commenting directly on the case. “As far as I’m informed, the situation is extremely serious. So serious, in my estimation, [that] it’s one of the most serious in football since I’ve been involved in it.

“At the level of the Spanish league, the matter is, of course, barred and cannot have competitive consequences while proceedings are underway at the level of the Spanish Civil Prosecutor’s Office. The same goes for Uefa, it has not been time-barred,” Ceferin added.

Given their support for the breakaway European Super League, Ceferin and UEFA might not go light on the club when it comes to deciding punishment – if Barca are found guilty, of course.