Rossel appeared on trial and insisted that Barcelona s success was not related to buying referees because of Messi and others

Spanish media reported that former Barcelona chairman Rossell appeared in court for trial on Thursday local time. According to legal sources, he and Bartomeu both denied that Barcelona paid Negrera for the purpose of manipulating the game, insisting that the move was a "consultation service."

Russel limped into court due to recent surgery. However, in an interview with Western media, he pointed out that his leadership in Barcelona was in the prime of the team, and his sports success was attributed to the strong lineup composed of Messi, Pique and others, which was related to buying referees.

According to prosecutor data, in the past 20 years from 2001 to 2018, Barcelona paid 7.3 million euros to Negrera, and 2 million were paid during Rossell's tenure as the club's chairman (2011-2014). From 2014 to 2015, Barcelona paid Negrela 1.2 million euros through transfers. From 2016 to 2018, Negrela no longer served as vice chairman of the referee committee, but Barcelona paid him another 1.6 million euros. At this time, the Barcelona chairman was Bartomeu.

legal sources said Rossel and Bartomeu both argued that the payments paid to Negrera were left over from previous boards and were "rewards" for consulting services. Bartomeu terminated payments to Negrera and his son because the club needed to cut expenses in multiple fields. When leaving the court, the former Barcelona chairman also told the media: "We have the best team in the world and do not need the help of the referee."