What is ‘Barcagate’?
Barcelona’s board had hired an IT consultancy called I3 Ventures to improve its social media use, paying the company around €1 million a year from the 2017-18 season.
It was then claimed in early 2020 that the company had been behind “troll” accounts, besmirching the reputation of those who were seen as “enemies” of the then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s hierarchy — including club legends such as Pep Guardiola, Carles Puyol and Xavi, current players Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi, possible presidential candidates Agusti Benedito and Victor Font, and Catalan media mogul Jaume Roures.
It was also alleged that some of the contracts with I3 Ventures were deliberately hidden from any oversight by the relevant committees within the club. Six Barca directors resigned from the club’s board last April when the allegations started to come to light.
The club, Bartomeu, Grau, Ponti and Masferrer have always denied the allegations against them. An internally funded investigation by PwC found in July that there had been some irregularities in the contracts with I3 Ventures, but cleared the club hierarchy of any wrongdoing.
A Catalan police investigation continued, however, with Mossos agents visiting the Nou Camp in early May and again in July to reportedly take away documents to use as evidence in a potential criminal investigation into misuse of club funds.
What are the specific legal charges?
Barca’s hiring of consultancy I3 Ventures was not in itself problematic, however it has been alleged that the full extent of the work it was contracted to do for the club was deliberately hidden.
This may have included the issuing of multiple contracts of less than €200,000 — the figure at which other directors would have to be informed of the work being done.
This means that the police could decide to bring charges of ‘false accounting’ and ‘misuse of club funds’. The police are not thought to be pursuing charges related to the alleged ‘trolling’.
What has the reaction been?
Barcelona published a statement on Monday, which read: “FC Barcelona have offered up their full collaboration to the legal and police authorities to help make clear facts which are subject to investigation.
“The information and documentation requested by the judicial police force relate strictly to the facts relative to this case.
“FC Barcelona expresses its utmost respect for the judicial process in place and for the principle of presumed innocence for the people affected within the remit of this investigation.”
What comes next?
Barcelona has been mired in political turmoil since well before Bartomeu resigned in October, when a motion of censure taken by concerned club socios had forced a vote of its entire membership on his future. The club also had significantly rising debts, even before the COVID-19 pandemic pushed them to over €1 billion.
Monday’s police operation meanwhile comes less than a week before new presidential elections are scheduled to be held at the club. All three candidates – Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa – have been very clear to distance themselves from Bartomeu during the campaign.
Bartomeu’s arrest is sensational, however he has not been involved in the club since he resigned last October, and interim president Carles Tusquets terminated Masferrer’s contract soon afterwards. Grau and Gómez Pontí are however still employed at the club in executive roles.
(Photo: Nigel French/EMPICS/PA Images via Getty Images
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