Prosecutors accuse Barcelona of corruption in ref payments

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Prosecutors have formally accused Barcelona of corruption because of its payments over several years to a company that belonged to the vice president of Spain’s football refereeing committee. The decision was made official on Friday. It was reported this week by Spanish newspaper El País. An investigating judge will decide whether the accusations should lead to charges. Barcelona has been under scrutiny since the club’s payments involving millions of dollars became public. The payments were initially investigated as part of a tax probe into the company. Barcelona has consistently denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest. It says it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.