A bizarre war of words between Spanish giants Barcelona and Sevilla has erupted online late on Friday.
For those not aware, Barca and Sevilla are currently locked in action.
In the opening fixture of the La Liga weekend, the two sides have gone toe-to-toe at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, hopeful of keeping alive solid respective recent runs of form.
As things stand in Catalunya, the scoreline remains goalless in an entertaining affair.
As alluded to above, though, in the buildup to the clash, it was not the impending action on the pitch which took its place centre stage in the pre-match chatter.
Instead, this came in the form of a board-level blowout between the two clubs.
This comes in direct response to the ongoing ‘Negreira case’, which on Thursday saw reports mount that the Blaugrana have been placed under formal investigation, for the “sustained crime of active bribery.”
Sevilla’s statement, in full, can be read below:
‘After the latest news and developments in the Negreira Case and the indictment of FC Barcelona and some of its former officials, out of respect for the competition and our fans, we would like to communicate that:
‘-We express our complete outrage and condemnation of the actions carried out by the former officials of FC Barcelona who are indicted in the Negreira case, actions that are allegedly considered criminal by the Court of Instruction of Barcelona, as stated in the court order disseminated in the media.
‘-We reject the behavior of FC Barcelona during the periods in which these alleged crimes took place
‘-For this reason, we have suspended the normal protocol corresponding to the LaLiga match scheduled for Friday, September 29, between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC, and will have no representation in the Montjuic stadium’s VIP box.
‘-We want to express our deepest respect for the Barcelona members and season ticket holders, as well as for their current employees and officials who work daily at FC Barcelona and who are indirectly implicated in this matter.
‘-We respect the Spanish justice system, the presumption of innocence, and any decisions that may be made in any direction by the relevant courts and disciplinary bodies.
‘-We hope that, for the sake of the competition, all events in the Negreira case will be clarified in light of the judge’s recent considerations.
‘-We trust that incidents such as the alleged ones do not happen again and that the relevant federative bodies will ensure, from now on, the integrity of all competitions, which Sevilla FC has also been participating in during the periods under investigation against FC Barcelona.’
ℹ️ Official Statement: Negreira Case FC Barcelona
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) September 29, 2023
Barcelona, for their part, were in turn left with little choice but to release a public statement of their own.
And as much was forthcoming online a short time ago.
Taking direct aim back at their La Liga rivals, the reigning champions slammed Sevilla, for what has been deemed an ‘unjustified and inappropriate attack’.
Barca’s response can be read here:
‘FC Barcelona wishes to show publicly its condemnation of Sevilla FC’s unjustified and inappropriate attack after the club today refused to attend the institutional lunch amongst directors prior to today’s game between the two teams the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, where its representatives have also refused to take their places in the directors’ box.
‘Furthermore, the Andalusian club has published a statement in which it shows its “indignation and condemnation for the practices carried out by former FC Barcelona directors named in the Negreira case” and announces its absence from the directors’ box for today’s game.
‘FC Barcelona believe this to be an attack against the Catalan institution and an unacceptable offence.
‘The aforementioned Negreira Case cannot be used as an excuse for such measures, given that the legal case is in a very early phase and the position of Sevilla FC clearly prejudices the facts that have yet to be established in any shape or form.
‘Moreover, the legal decision announced today does not alter in any way the legal and factual position of FC Barcelona in the process; it is legal disputable; it does not come from any firm basis and it will be appealed against by the Club.
‘Furthermore, the FC Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, appeared in an extraordinary assembly of LaLiga, called for this very case, where he gave comprehensive clarifications and explanations on this question.
‘Sevilla FC’s position, therefore, appears illogical given that on the one hand it ignores the presumption of innocence and on the other denies FC Barcelona its right to a defence in the legal process which is currently ongoing.
‘In the light of this unacceptable and unjustifiable position of Sevilla FC, FC Barcelona believes that all institutional relations with the institution from Seville have been broken off until their current position is rectified.
FC Barcelona official statement
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 29, 2023
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