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Gerard Pique makes extreme declaration regarding Barcelona corruption charges.
After allegations of corruption against the club, Gerard Pique has stated that Barcelona has not “paid referees,” saying he would “place his hand on the fire” to swear it didn’t.
Barcelona has been accused of “sporting corruption” after it came to light that the team reportedly sent money to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee, over a period of years.
The €7 million in payments is said to have been made between 2001 and 2018 for reports and films on how to conduct oneself in front of specific referees.
Former Barcelona captain Pique, who was with the club for most of the time under investigation, asserted that the Blaugrana did not bribe referees and were just better than other teams at the time in an interview with RAC1.
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“I would put my hand on the fire that Barça has not bought referees,” the retired star said. “If you want to pay the referees, it’s easy, you stand by him and give the envelope, it’s easier than going to the vice-president of the refereeing committee.
“No matter how much they want to smear, that was a golden era. It’s not just the titles won, but how they were won. You can review everything: we were far superior . We didn’t depend on the referee, for better or for worse.”
Barcelona won nine La Liga titles, six Copa del Rey titles in a row, and four UEFA Champions League titles throughout the aforementioned 17-year span.
In a club statement, Real Madrid expressed their “utmost worry” over the allegations of corruption, however since then, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez has been accused of attempting to exert pressure or influence over former referee Iturralde Gonzalez during a match in 2010.