There were Raids and arrests at Barcelona stadium on Monday in a search and seizure operation where police confirmed detentions of several people whose number was not confirmed.
It is believed that this raid operation was related to last year’s “Barcagate,” where club officials are believed to have launched a smear campaign against the current and former players who were of great importance to the club.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, who was the former club’s president, was among those detained. This is according to the Spanish media. This detention comes with just days to the clubs’ presidential elections.
Joan Laporta, who is one of the three presidential candidates said all the happenings were consequences of the bad management by the previous administration. He termed Bartomeu’s reported detention as shocking and not a good thing for the club. He further noted that Josep Maria Bartomeu deserved to be treated innocent until proven guilty.
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The search and seizure operation was ordered by a judge according to court officials. However, detentions were made at the discretion of the police agents who were involved. The whole operation was carried out by the police financial crimes department according to the authorities.
Barcelona was accused of hiring and overpaying a company that was tasked with making negative comments about the club’s players in order to boost the image of senior officials, a claim that the club denied.
The accused company is said to have used fake media accounts to discredit opinions that were against the club’s position. The club will later release an independent audit report to prove that from its side there is no wrongdoing.
Barcelona’s board of directors and its president resigned last year. The club has been into political turmoil and big debts brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona is currently managed by a caretaker board of directors since the resignation of Bartomeu.
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