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Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of La Liga's Barcelona, attends the official presentation of new manager Ronald Koeman at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, August 19, 2020. /CFP
Josep Maria Bartomeu, former president of La Liga's Barcelona, was arrested by local police following a raid at Barca's office at their home stadium Camp Nou on Monday, according to multiple media outlets.
Barca's CEO Oscar Grau and head of legal services Roman Gomez Ponti were also arrested as the police entered Camp Nou searching for evidence relating to the "Barcagate" social media scandal a year ago.
"Arrests are taking place but we cannot give names. We are in the process of carrying out an operation at the moment with agents from the financial crimes unit," confirmed a spokesman for the local police, according to ESPN.
Lionel Messi (L) of Barcelona and the the club's President Josep Maria Bartomeu pose during the signing of Messi's new contract with Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, May 19, 2014. /CFP
In February 2020, Spain's premier radio network Cadena SER revealed that Barca had been working with a third-party company I3 Ventures to smear the club's former and currently players as well as presidential candidates on social media platforms.
About 58.5 million posts were made by accounts created by I3, leading to some 51.1 million views, according to a 36-page report by Cadena SER. Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, former captain Xavi Hernandez, ex-manager Pep Guardiola and presidential candidates Victor Font and Agusti Benedito, were all among the attacked. Bartomeu was still Barca's president back then.
The Catalan club denied the allegations almost immediately and rescinded their contract with I3. Bartomeu's adviser Jaume Masferrer was held responsible for the club's relationship with I3 and was suspended later. PricewaterhouseCoopers later launched external audit on the club which cleared them of any wrongdoing. Nor did PwC find any inflated price paid by the club to I3 for its service.
Lionel Messi (L) and Oscar Mingueza of Barcelona walk off the field after the 4-1 loss against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg game at the Camp Nou stadium, February 16, 2021. /CFP
Bartomeu resigned last October after 20,000 supporters signed a petition requesting to remove him from the leading position. Carles Tusquets became the acting president. A new president will be elected on Sunday.
However, none of the above stopped Spanish police from launching their own investigation into the scandal. The first raid at Camp Nou happened last June, searching for related documents. Then on Monday, police came again. Having asked employees to leave the building first, police looked for more evidence that might help their investigation.
