Franco: “It might not be as serious as it seems, but the subject is very ugly”
MADRID, March 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), José Manuel Franco, announced that they will appear in the ‘Negreira case’ at the “opportune moment” and asked FC Barcelona and its president, Joan Laporta, to explain what happened to find out if It is not “as serious as it seems” what happened.
“The intention of the CSD is to appear but at the right time, because we must not forget that the Prosecutor’s Office has denounced before an Investigating Court, that court has to admit it for processing and that will be when we, with our legal services, we appear now in this case,” he said in statements on Telecinco’s ‘El programa de Ana Rosa’.
As for why they have taken so long to communicate that they will appear, he assured that they want to be “responsible and coherent.” “You have to let the institutions work, they are working very well. The issue arises in the Tax Agency, it went to the Prosecutor’s Office and they have decided to denounce it. We are going to see if the Investigating Court admits it for processing, we are going to continue the process logical,” he said.
“This case worries me because Spanish sport is not good for it, it is bad for it. What is bad for football is bad for Spanish sport. A club does not pay the vice-president of the referees like this for nothing. It is true that there are to investigate it,” Franco acknowledged.
Therefore, in addition, I would like to hear the version of the Blaugrana club. “I would ask FC Barcelona for some kind of clarification, let them say what has happened. It might not be as serious as it seems, but the issue is very ugly and it worries us and it is a discredit for Spanish sport and football,” he said.
“I ask Mr. Laporta to clarify for once what has happened, if there are things that we don’t know, to tell them. The social mass of FC Barcelona also deserves an explanation”, he added in this regard.
On the other hand, regarding the fact that the former general director of the CSD, Albert Soler, is involved in the ‘Negreira case’, he assured that it has nothing to do with his departure from the CSD. “I don’t know if Albert Soler knew it or not, I was totally unaware. But when the case came out, Mr. Soler was no longer in the CSD. But there are many involved and they will have to clarify it before the judge. That is clear,” he said. he.
“The new Sports Law, approved in December, sets a limitation period for very serious offenses of three years, in line with the law governing the legal regime of the public sector. The new law aggravates the offenses,” he commented on the prescription of the possible crime and Soler’s involvement in the drafting of the new Sports Law.