CNN —FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta is officially being investigated as a “suspect” in the ongoing alleged improper payment scandal, according to court documents obtained by CNN – the latest twist in a scandal overshadowing the club and Spanish soccer. The investigation relates to alleged improper payments made by Barça to José María Enríquez Negreira, a former leading refereeing official in Spain. CNN has reached out to FC Barcelona for comment from Laporta but has yet to hear back. Laporta began his second term as club president in 2021. “As such, the statute of limitations of the crimes referred to previously has not expired in respect to [Laporta], as well as those people who were members of the Board of Directors of FC Barcelona respectively during his leadership,” Wednesday’s court document read.

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Persons: Joan Laporta, ”, Barça, Judge Joaquín Aguirre López, Enríquez Negreira, Javier, Aguirre López, “, –, Judge Aguirre López, Negreira, invoiced, Blaugrana, Xavi, Caso, Juan Manuel Serrano Arce, Laporta’s, Laporta, Pau Mosquera Organizations: CNN — FC Barcelona, CNN, Spanish, 1st, FC Barcelona, Mundo Deportivo, Caso, Prosecutors, CTA, Osasuna, Barcelona, Estadio El Locations: Spain, Barcelona, Spanish, Estadio El Sadar