Back to the Chelsea Newsfeed

Barcelona refereeing scandal explained: What is the issue? Will they face UCL ban? Why are Real Madrid involved?

Related Topics: Joan Laporta, Barcelona, Joan Gaspart

Two months after the story first broke, Barcelona president Joan Laporta came out swinging in a two-hour news conference on Monday, but there remain as many questions as answers surrounding the refereeing controversy that has rocked the Spanish champions-elect.

Barca should be preparing to celebrate a first LaLiga title since 2019 -- they are 11 points clear at the top with nine games to play -- but instead the focus is off the pitch. In March, a court opened an investigation into payments totaling over €7 million made by the club to companies owned by the former vice president of the refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, between 2001 and 2018.