LaLiga President Tebas: Believes Barcelona Did Not Bribe Referees; Can Sign New Players After Ter Stegen’s Injury

As reported by AS, LaLiga president Javier Tebas gave a new interview, in which he stated that the financial problems of Barcelona have been exaggerated. He believes that Barcelona did not bribe referees, and confirmed that Barcelona can sign new players after Ter Stegen’s injury.

Tebas said, “Barcelona’s financial problems have been greatly exaggerated. The actual situation is better than two years ago, and it will be even better in the next two years. Financial fair play must be enforced, there is no other way, whether for Barcelona or any other team, this is a rule suitable for all teams. Even if it is hard to understand, it should apply to every team.”

Regarding the “referee scandal” involving Barcelona and Negreira, Tebas pointed out, “I believe there was no match manipulation. We have done a lot of work, monitoring matches and related fields, and within our investigation, there was no match manipulation behavior. Regarding the Negreira case, I have been repeating this, but some people want to forget — the first to report to the prosecutor was LaLiga, which is the most important attitude, just like what we did in 2012 and 2013, when some of the involved individuals were already in prison. It has to be said that up to today, there is no evidence that referees have received payments.”

Regarding Ter Stegen’s injury, Tebas confirmed that Barcelona can sign a player, and this player does not have to be a goalkeeper: “Barcelona will be able to sign a player, who can be, or not be, a goalkeeper.”