Barcelona are ruing the fact that allegations that they paid a former LaLiga referee more than £1million across three seasons has emerged 'at the best sporting moment of the season'.
The Catalan side are top of the standings in LaLiga and are busy preparing to face Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday.
But a report, which was first released on Cadena SER radio program Que t'hi jugues, alleges that Barcelona paid Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, through his company DASNIL 95, €1.4m (£1.2m) during Josep Bartomeu's presidency.
It is alleged that Negreira, who would go on to become the vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees after retiring, was paid €532,728 (£473,340) in 2016, €541,752 (£481,358) in 2017, and then a further €318,200 (£282,915) in 2018.