BarcelonaFifteen months after submitting his resignation en masse, the members of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board of directors are back in the news due to the complaint filed by Barça for alleged irregularities in its management as a result of the report forensic. He is accused of allegedly committing the crimes of forgery, forgery and unfair administration. However, despite these accusations, the former directors say that they live “quietly” and that they do not anticipate that this case, despite being in the hands of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, will end up causing them any fright. They are also “expectant” to know what the current president, Joan Laporta, will say on Tuesday, the day he has to present in a press conference the conclusions of the forensic. And, above all, what documentation it will provide. Meanwhile, they defend themselves individually, assuring that no one has committed any crime and put “their hand in the fire” for the rest of their comrades.
Bartomeu’s management team’s response is based on a strategy designed to stop the coup, at least until Laporta presents the final report on February 1. As he explains Goal, the former Barça managers keep their WhatsApp group open and this week they used it to deal with the issue. On the one hand, they confess that they do not yet have the details of the report and for this reason – and following the advice of the lawyers – they prefer to wait to make any kind of assessment, to avoid putting their feet in the bucket. But they do venture to defend their innocence. “He is accused of committing crimes. I haven’t committed any, and I’m convinced that none of my colleagues will either, “said a former manager. A response practically modeled on that of another former member of the board: “We made mistakes in economic management and in sports management, we are aware of that. But I am convinced that no one here has put their hand in the box. The difference between making a mistake and committing a crime is abysmal. “
Complaint, and no complaint
The forensic, the report commissioned as a result of the due diligence to find out if the irregularities detected in the management of the outgoing directive could be considered a crime, he has put his nose in aspects such as extra costs in the Espai Barça, the millionaire compensation to Laietà, the commissions of signings like the one of Malcom, the fragmentation of invoices in the Barçagate case or the payment of services that were not provided, among many others. Laporta’s board, which had the full report before Christmas, and after a long month of deliberation, finally decided to turn to the prosecution instead of filing a lawsuit. Broadly speaking, the main difference is that, in the complaint, the evidence that is susceptible to crime is presented directly to the judge. On the other hand, with the complaint, the suspicions are presented to the Public Prosecutor’s Office so that it can analyze them, investigate them and, if it finds punishable facts, transfer them definitively to the judge.
For the outgoing board, that Laporta has opted for the complaint may be an indicator that all this can end in very little. In any case, and as a precaution, they will wait until Tuesday before ruling. The strategy to be followed from day 1 will be based on the arguments put on the table by the current president and, above all, the documentation he can provide. At the moment, no public intervention is planned, despite the insistence of many media to ask them to give their version of events in the first person.
Thus, there is no public news of Bartomeu, who for now has not accepted the invitation of this medium to give his version on the due diligence and the corresponding forensic. From his environment, however, they explain that he is also “calm” in the face of the information that has been appearing in recent months, both those explained by the CEO, Ferran Reverter, about how he had left the club financially, and those that have gone appearing published in the media. Bartomeu, who has other pending litigation related to the club, such as the Barçagate case or the Neymar II case, has always denied any irregularity in its management that could constitute a crime. He also recalled that his work and that of his fellow board members, unlike that of Barça’s executives, workers and footballers, is “honorary and unpaid”.
Laporta appeals to caution
The decision to opt for the complaint and not the complaint provoked a great deal of debate among the current members of the board. Some of the directors, especially those who are new to the club, felt that they had to go deep because they had the electoral commitment to do so. But in the end, the thesis was defended by Laporta and his hard core, not to take any wrong steps and – remembering the action of responsibility they suffered – to avoid the crossing of complaints until they had all the pieces of the puzzle. “If we have to take legal action, we will do it. But hey, not like them [la directiva de Sandro Rosell i Bartomeu] they did it with us “, said a few months ago the vice-president Elena Fort in an interview with ARA. “We are not the police, we can have clues, but we lack information. That’s why we need the help of the Public Prosecutor’s Office “, points out another director. At the moment they are appealing for caution and trying to minimize leaks. Even if they have to “bite the tongue.”
sports
First the signings, then the complaints
The current Barça executives had on the table, in mid-December, the conclusions of the forensic and the public presentation of the results was planned before Christmas. But that same week, at the last board meeting of the year, it was reversed and the call was postponed until later. The second date chosen for the report was this Thursday, but it all took a new turn. Finally, it will be on Tuesday, February 1st. A date that was not chosen at random.
The reason for waiting to publish the study’s findings is twofold. Initially, the board, and especially President Laporta, wanted to be very clear about the path to follow once the Pandora’s box was opened and all the dirty rags of the previous board were detailed. A path that has ended up consisting of filing a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office. In this way, Laporta not only appeared to explain the conclusions, but also went one step further and took action.
The second reason for postponing the presentation of the report refers to the winter transfer market, which is in full swing, and where Barça hopes to resolve thorny issues such as the departure of Dembélé. In addition, the forensic he puts his nose in the commissions of some representatives on old signings, a fact that could negatively condition the relations between the club and the agents of the footballers.
Finally, February 1 is the day after the market closes. Or what is the same: also, it can serve as an excuse for the sports management in the event of not being able to successfully close the proposed operations. It would be a way to justify that all the ills of the club come from long before.
