Barcelona president stands trial over Neymar deal

63 views0

Barcelona president stands trial over Neymar deal

By

 Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu will face trial for engaging in the signing of Neymar after having his appeal turned down by a court on Thursday. Bartomeu, was vice-president to Sandro Rosell in 2013 when the deal was sealed, and now faces fraud and corruption charges following a complaint brought against him by a Brazilian Investment Company (DIS). Neymar lost his final appeal in February and would face corruption charges related to the transfer. Those to stand trial include Rosell, Barcelona, Brazilian club Santos and the company managed by Neymar’s parents after they lost appeal. Spain’s National Court Thursday had ruled that Bartomeu’s involvement in the transfer is same as Rosell’s. DIS requested a five year prison term for the Barca boss. However, prosecutors are clamoring for a two-year sentence and a penalty of nearly €10 million for Neymar and his father on corruption charges. In case of being found guilty, they may not spend any time in prison because they would be first-time offenders. The parties involved in the payment of penalty are Barcelona which would pay €9m while Santos could be fined €7m. At the same time, Argentine Football Association (AFA) Chief Claudio Tapia has encouraged Lionel Messi to present himself before the FIFA authorities in Switzerland next week in order to reduce his four-game international ban. Messi was handed the suspension last month after a misunderstanding with the assistant referee in the match against Chile. He has already gone through one game of the ban but AFA believes it can be reduced for him to feature in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. Tapia said: “We will talk with him on Friday to make the right decision.“It is important that he is in Switzerland before the FIFA authorities to see if we can get a reduction of the four games.”

Discover more from NewsBreakers

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

What's your reaction?

Excited
0
Happy
0
In Love
0
Not Sure
0
Silly
0
Previous
Next

Comments are closed.