Former Barcelona President, Bartomeu, Others Arrested thisdaylive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisdaylive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Story highlights The information and documentation requested by the judicial police force relate strictly to the facts relative to this case.
FC Barcelona on Tuesday have released a statement after police raided the offices of the club while carrying several arrests, including former Barca president Josep Bartomeu on Monday.
The statement read: Regarding the entry and search by the Catalan Police force this morning at the Camp Nou offices by order of the Instructing Court number 13 in Barcelona, which is in charge of the case relating to the contacting of monitoring services on social networks, FC Barcelona have offered up their full collaboration to the legal and police authorities to help make clear facts which are subject to investigation.
Ex-Barcelona president released after court appearance
Published 2 March 2021
Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his former advisor Jaume Masferrer were released Tuesday after appearing before a judge investigating last year’s ‘Barcagate’ scandal, a Spanish court said.
The two men, who were arrested on Monday, “exercised their right not to speak, and the judge granted them conditional release while the investigation continues”, the Barcelona court said in a statement.
The court said the judge had sought to question them as part of an investigation opened in May 2020 into the suspected crimes of false administration and business corruption.
Two other club officials also detained as part of the operation which involved a search of Barcelona’s stadium the club’s current chief executive Oscar Grau and its head of legal services Roma Gomez Ponti were released late on Monday.
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