Madrid – Catalan police on Monday detained several people after raiding Barcelona’s stadium in a search and seizure action, adding to the club’s turmoil less than a week before the presidential election.
The operation was related to last year’s “Barcaget”, in which club officials were accused of launching a smear campaign against current and former players who were critics of the club and then-president Josep Maria Bartomu.
According to reports, Bartomu, his mentor Jaime Masferrer, team CEO Oscar Graeau and head of legal services Roman Gomez Ponty were among those arrested.
Police said they were detained, but did not say to whom or how many people have been detained.
The club said it offered “full support to legal and police officers to help clear facts that are under investigation.” The case was related to the interaction of monitoring services on social networks.
“The information and documentation requested by the judicial police force is strictly related to the facts relative to the case,” the club said. “FC Barcelona expressed its utmost respect for the judicial process and for the doctrine of presumed innocence for those affected within the dispatch of this investigation.”
The club did not mention Bartomu, but Spanish media said that he and other former club officials were among those detained.
A text message sent to Bartomu was not immediately responded to.
One of the three presidential candidates, Joan LaPorta, told Lelida Radio that what happened on Monday was “the result of poor management by the previous administration.” He said the news of Bartomu’s detention was “shocking” and “not a good thing” for the club, but added that the former president was entitled to the “presumption of innocence”.
LaPorta was the President of Barcelona a decade ago and, like Bartomu, faced a no-confidence vote during his time in charge.
Court officials said that a judge had ordered the search and seizure of the operation, but restrictions were placed on the discretion of the police agents involved. Officials said that this campaign is being carried out by the Financial Crimes Department of the police.
Barcelona denied the allegations that it had hired it to make negative comments about its own players and opponents on social media to boost the image of the club’s senior officials.
The company was accused of using social media accounts to discredit opposition figures when they expressed views against the club. Some figures reportedly included players such as Lionel Messi and Gerard Piche as well as former coach Pep Guardiola.
The club later issued an independent audit report showing that no wrongdoing had taken place.
Bartomu and his board of directors resigned last year amid a dispute with Messi. The club has been driven into political turmoil and debt, fueled by the coronovirus epidemic.
The club has been managed by a caretaker board since Bartomu left in October, facing a no-confidence motion backed by thousands of members of the club angry over the team’s poor performance and the club’s financial condition.
The club’s clash began after an 8–2 embarrassing defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which was the first without a title for the Spanish club since 2007-08.
Bartomu was strongly criticized by Messi, especially after the former president rejected the player’s request to leave the club at the end of last season. Messi’s contract expires for this season and the Argentine great has not yet said whether he will stay at another club.
– With November
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