So this week it has come to light that they have paid the then vice president of the Spanish Refereeing Committee over €7m from 2016 until 2018, but may have been doing something similar from as early as 2003. Barcelona have said that they were consultancy fees that were all above board and "all the big clubs do it". The Spanish Refereeing Committee said it was unaware of the actions of its former VP and that they would have banned it as a conflict of interests. The head of La Liga has said that they have no grounds to investigate Barcelona as it's passed a 3 year statute of limitations, but he also stated he has "no idea if match fixing took place" and that criminal charges are not subject to the statute of limitations if corruption took place. There's a lot of stink around Barcelona right now. The mask has slipped numerous times over the last several years and the idea that they were some sort of force for good against the evil empire of Real Madrid has long since been destroyed.
It stinks mate. Sid Lowe has done a fantastic piece on it in The Guardian. This is the sort of expose that makes you wonder what else is going on where there is so much money sloshing around.
I didn't think I was naive but I honestly didn't think that the big clubs were paying off referees. Casts another shadow on a sport that's already on very thin ice in terms of morality and integrity.
that is the problem with 'real life fifa', they get to make the rules to suit them (anyone taking the slightest interest in var can see that) but the objective is exactly the same...to be the best. when money overtakes the game you know it means trouble and corruption.
For me, it goes against the grain to dislike Barcelona. The players they've had and the football they've played has made them a joy to watch. Their identity as a political two fingers up to centralised Spain, and especially to the Franco regime, has made them popular romantic heroes. I'm sure there will be people out there who will say that Barcelona cheating is payback for the leg up that Franco gave Real Madrid. But the reality is that Madrid gained less from that relationship than Franco did. His role in their success has been exaggerated both by Real Madrid and by their opponents. Their success, however, was useful to him as it helped to paper over some of the cracks in his regime and made Spain look good to the rest of Europe. Similarly, Barcelona were useful to him. While the Catalans had Barcelona as a focus of national expression it gave them a regular outlet to let off steam about how much they hated Franco but that never amounted to a serious threat to him and he knew that. The conspiracy theories about Real Madrid being artificially kept top of the pile and refs being biased towards them weren't necessarily true but they kept alive the rivalry between the two clubs and that was useful to the regime. It's a bit sad to have your illusions shattered about a club that presents itself in the way that Barcelona has but it just goes to show how sick the game is really.
I'm finding that I'm having less ans less interest in sport these days. Athletics - Dodgy Some aspects of football - Dodgy Golf - We all know where that's going on there Cycling- Dodgy F1 - Like him or not, but Hamilton getting shafted in the middle east World cup locations can be bought for political gains. David Beckham taking money to be the face of an organisation he said was "disgusting" years earlier then aided sports washing for the world cup. Juventus every ten years involved in some kind of scandal. If you want to watch football you have to subscribe to several platforms. Out pricing and corruption are making it easy for people to turn their backs. So I'm not surprised at the Barcelona situation
Good post marra, but... with all the corruption and sportswashing in football, I'm past caring for other teams - I used to wear a Barca top for 5aside. Looking forward to the pub tonight with a couple of mates roaring on the lad's. Hhhaaawwwwaaaaayyyyyyy, cannot wait
There was plenty wrong with the World Cup in terms of off the field antics this was so pathetic its almost laughable!
Rare these days to see someone know the crack and not just bang the 'Franco helped Real' drum. Out of interest have you read Sid Lowe's fear and loathing in La Liga? Because thats where I learned about the above. Ultimately Real Madrid and Barca are different sides of the same arsehole. I guess Real Madrid have never tried to cover what they are, whilst Barca wanted to depict themselves as holier-than-thou and the antithesis of Real Madrid. Madness that they've turned into the exact thing they claim to be so dead-set against.
I haven't read it but I keep meaning to. There's a book called Morbo by Phil Ball that talks about all that kind of stuff. It's interesting, I like that sort of thing.
Deffo worth a read marra. I have Morbo too! IIRC I'm sure its Sid Lowe who Phil Ball references when talking about it in Morbo. The frying pan of Spain by Colin Millar is superb as well, all about the Sevilla-Betis rivarly.
Talks about the influence they've had on the game and a bit on what made them what they are. Not particularly critical of them though. Yeah, I'm a bit of a fan too. Read loads of his.
No doubting the influence they've had, but they could do with a hard read of it themselves to remind them what they like to think they stand for. Aye me too mate - Angels with dirty faces, behind the curtain and nobody ever says thankyou.
