They lengthen until January the secret of summary of the 'Barçagate'

The judge of the Court of Instruction number 13 of Barcelona, Alejandra Gil, lengthened until 10 January 2021 the secret of summary of the 'Barçagate', although the Barcelona already has sent all the documentation required in the past month of June, as it could know the Agency EFE.

This is the fourth extention of the secret of summary of the case after it declared for the first time the past 14 July. Now the juridical reason is that they are finish the police reports, which up to now had not been able to give by concluded because it did not have all the information and pertinent documentation of the Catalan team.

Also lacking for doing some statement testifical to contrast data and information, by what expects that the prolongation of the secret of summary will allow, according to the judge, that the same can not be contaminated neither leave to be all the spontaneous that it has to be.

The start of the case

According to a chronology published by The Viewer, everything began the past 17 February, when the program 'Què T'hi Jugues' to BE Catalonia explained that from finals of the 2017 the Barça had hired a society of name I3 Ventures, property of the Argentinian employer Carlos Ibáñez, that purportedly devoted to desprestigiar, difamar and put in doubt from at least six accounts of Facebook to individuals and entities of the Barcelona surroundings no affine to the managerial board directed by the today ex president of the Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and even to players like Leo Messi and Gerard Hammered.

According to the information, the Barça would have paid one million annual euros to I3 Ventures by the monitory and the defence reputacional in the social networks of the president, the managerial board, as well as the mark. Besides, the bills would have troceado between different departments so that each one went inferior to 200.000 euros, what avoided that the agreements had to go through the approval of the managerial board.

Afterwards to make public the information, spokesmen of the Barça issued a communiqué denying his relation with the facts, although they admitted in the text that the company I3 Ventures himself was provider of the club. But they cleared that if it showed that this had some links with the accounts of Facebook from where executed such campaign, would terminate the agreement with the same. Owing to this, the next day the Barça announced the end of the agreement with the company property of Ibáñez.

The repercussions of the scandal

The case caused an earthquake inside the managerial board of Bartomeu. To his time, a group of directors asked explanations to the ex main director of the Barcelona club, also demanded the advance of the comicios, foreseen for the 2021, as well as responsibilities to the director of the area of presidency Jaume Masferrer. Bartomeu at the beginning did not access to the requirements of the others managerial, but yes to the second, suspending of employment and wage to Masferrer until the conclusion of an orderly external audit to investigate the case, of which commissioned to the signature PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC).

The fans culé did not see the scandal with good eyes and even arrived to demand the renunciation of Bartomeu in the back parties of the Barcelona. It would be on 27 February of this year when El País published that Nicestream, the company mother of I3 Ventures, and of which also is owner Ibañez, made campaigns difamatorias through accounts of Twitter using practical similar to the seen in Facebook against individuals, journalists and entities of the Barcelona surroundings.

By his part, Bartomeu asked the resignation of four directors that were critical with him, between them: Emili Rousaud, institutional vice-president, president of the Committee of Adjudications and the one who until the explosion of the case took for granted that it would be the candidate continuista in the next elections; Enrique Tombas, vice-president, treasurer and member of the Committee of Compliance and of the Economic Commission; Josep Pont, manager of the commercial area and member of the Economic Commission; as well as Silvio Elías, managerial attendant of the Barça B and also integral of the Economic Commission.

Audit and renunciation of directors

The already mentioned directors presented his resignation, and in addition to these also resigned Maria Teixidor, secretary and president of the Commission of Control and Transparency, and Jordi Calsamiglia, manager of the disciplinary area and member of the Committee of Compliance. The six delivered to a notary documentation that still has not made public .

The conclusions of the external audit made by PWC made public the past month of July on the 'Barçagate' descartan that hired by part of the managerial board of the Barcelona "any campaign difamatoria against anybody", as it announced the spokesman of the entity, Josep Live. The auditor added that it has not detected "any indication" neither "any corrupt behaviour neither economic profit" in the case, as well as that the works commissioned were "inside the price of market". Aunado To the scandal produced by the controversy and to the so much economic problems as in the field, Bartomeu presented his renunciation to the charge like president of the Barcelona, remaining in his place Carlos Tusquets.