After successfully defending their La Liga title last season, Barcelona are in an unprecedented predicament. The controversy over the "bribe" of the football certificates took a dramatic turn on Friday (29th). Spanish police raided the FA's License Office, and prosecutors formally charged Barcelona with "active bribery" of the License Committee's top officials, a charge that spans 17 years, and if convicted, Barcelona could even be banned by the UEFA from participating in the UEFA Europa League.
The Spanish prosecutor Akil had already accused Barcelona of sports bribery, fraudulent management, falsification of documents and other charges in March this year. On Friday, the police raided the offices of the Football License Committee, Akil revealed that he had new evidence and upgraded the charge of "sports bribery" to "active bribery", targeting Niagara, the former vice-president of the Football License Committee. It is reported that between 2001 and 2018, Barcelona paid Niagara up to 8.4 million euros (about 70 million Hong Kong dollars) in "consultancy fees" through its subsidiaries.
The prosecution involves three of Basel's top executives, including past presidents Russell and Badumeo, and current president Raporta. Basse has maintained that the cooperation with Niagara was "legitimate," but under Spain's bribery statute, the intent to pay a bribe can constitute a crime, regardless of whether or not a benefit is ultimately received. According to the prosecutor, Bassey tried to "exchange money for influence".
