FC Barcelona and former club presidents charged with 'continued corruption' relating to alleged improper payments

By Ben Morse, Patrick Sung and Al Goodman, CNN

Updated 2241 GMT (0641 HKT) March 10, 2023

FC Barcelona has been charged with «continued corruption between individuals in the sports field» in relation to an alleged improper payment scandal which has rocked the sport.

(CNN)FC Barcelona was charged on Friday 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 which has rocked Spanish soccer.

Former FCB presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, former club CEO Oscar Grau, former club director of professional sports Albert Soler and José María Enríquez Negreira — a former leading refereeing official in Spain — have also been charged.In a written complaint from the Barcelona Prosecutor's Office sent to CNN, Barça and the other accused have also been charged with «the crime of continued false administration and the crime of continued falsification of commercial documents.» The charges were presented to the No. 1 magistrate's court in Barcelona. An FCB source told CNN that the club did not have an official statement, though its first reaction was that the charges were to be expected after recent events, but that the report was an «absolutely preliminary investigative hypothesis» and that the club would assist the investigation in any way possible. The source also strongly denied that the club had at any time bribed a referee or tried to influence refereeing decisions.Read MoreSpanish lawyer Jose Maria Fuster Fabra confirmed to CNN that he's representing Bartomeu in this case. «We are preparing the defense and we don't think this case will go to trial,» he said, declining to make further