What is Barcagate?
Bartomeu, along with three others - Chief Executive Officer of the club, Oscar Grau, former adviser to the presidency Jaume Masferrer, and head legal counsel Roman Gomez Ponti - were arrested as part of a police investigation into the matter.
The investigation first began following a complaint made by a Barcelona fan group, amid speculation that the Liga side paid I3 ventures for work related to social media monitoring. Some of the work included painting a more positive image of Bartomeu while also seeking to disparage the reputation of several players - including Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Xavi.
Barcelona FC CEO Oscar Grau and Roman Gómez Ponti, the club’s head of legal, former president Josep Bartomeu and other top officials have been arrested by th
Police raided the headquarters of FC Barcelona on Monday, seizing evidence in relation to the club's social media scandal and arresting four people.Detained: Josep Maria Bartomeu, former president; Oscar Grau, CEO; Roman Gomez Ponti, head of legal services; Jaume Masferrer, an adviser to Bartomeau.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.The backdrop: It's been a year since Barça was alleged to have hired an external marketing company to smear former and current players, including Lionel Messi, on social media.Barcelona denied the allegations and a PWC audit cleared the club of any wrongdoing, but the police continued their investigation.They first raided the club's Camp Nou offices last June in search of documents. On Monday, they returned.The big picture: These arrests are yet another crisis for one of the world's most valuable sports teams, which is already facing crippling debt, boardroom turmoil, declining play, and endles
Judge releases former Barcelona FC president Bartomeu, Masferrer 1 minute read
Barcelona, Mar 2 (efe-epa).- The judge investigating the so called “BarçaGate” case on Tuesday ordered the provisional release of former FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his right hand, Jaume Masferrer, who used their right not to testify.
According to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), judge Alejandra Gil has ordered the release of Bartomeu and Masferrer with charges as both are under investigation for malpractices under their administration and corruption in business.
The magistrate has also agreed to lift the secrecy concerning the case, which she had extended up to six times and in which FC Barcelona is not listed as an accused party, but as an affected party, legal sources confirmed to EFE.
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has made clear that the arrest of former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu is not a good thing for the Blaugrana.
Bartomeu and three others - CEO Os