Barça, much more than a club, a disaster

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Fernando González Urbaneja | If the case of the trains that don’t fit through the tunnels was a grotesque case typical of a country of breakdowns, Barça’s payments to a professional referee with a federative position confirms the hypothesis of breakdown. For almost two decades, throughout this century, the leading Catalan sports club, more than a club, has spent more than seven million euros in unexplained and perhaps inexplicable payments that justify a commercial accusation of fraud, abuse, misappropriation, disloyal administration and improper provision… An accusation within the reach of the most unknown member, an injured party and even an ex officio investigation by the public prosecutor’s office.


The argument of the statute of limitations in sports legislation is a short-lived one, since what is relevant in this case is the commercial aspect, the criminal and civil dimension of the management of a company. Some think that the magnitude of the problem, which can affect and damage the competition with terrible consequences for the League and Spanish football, leads to the case being derailed without unforeseeable consequences. It is probable, even possible, but there are reasons to conclude that it is more likely that there will be criminal consequences of impossible depth.


It is not impossible that Barcelona football club will be relegated. Something similar happened to Juventus in Italy with negative consequences for the ‘Old Lady’ and for the competition. It is also possible that the already battered Blaugrana economy will suffer a further shock that will bring it closer to bankruptcy or even having to be refounded from the deepest of holes.


What is already inevitable is that the prestige and seriousness of the Spanish brand will suffer as a result of this case. There have been many years of irregular administration and arbitrary disposal of resources that were not detected (or were hidden) by the internal and external audit. It was the Tax Agency, inspecting the company that received the funds, which spilled the beans and passed the information on to the public prosecutor’s office, which has begun its investigation. It smelled of burning and the smoke and fire have been detected.


The attitude of the club, its president and board of directors is striking, as they have tried to dissimulate, to underestimate the magnitude of the problem in the hope tht it will just be forgotten, in one more unexplained incident that does not go any further due to the foreseeable and unforeseen consequences that are of interest to all those interests that surround the football business. A new case in sport that points to an unmitigated disaster. If everything is covered up without consequences, the prestige of Spanish football and the Spanish brand will suffer, as well as damage to democracy and legal certainty. And if it happens, the scope is now unimaginable, but on a large scale.


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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.