"I am convinced of the honesty of the arbitration group. This gentleman did not participate in the appointment of arbitrators. Never in those years this gentleman participated in anything." This is how forceful Luis Rubiales, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, was shown this Thursday in the El Chiringuito program where he made reference to Enríquez Negreira and spoke about the economic situation of LaLiga with clear references to Javier Tebas.
Asked about the supposed payments that Negrerira received from FC Barcelona, the RFEF president said that "you have to help justice but also remember the presumption of innocence" and described the attitude of those involved as "reprehensible". "Where they have to explain themselves is in front of the judge. A press conference at this point in the film does not seem interesting to me. I am fully convinced of the honesty of the arbitration group. This man had the powers he had. Never in those years That person participated in nothing," he said.
However, despite defending that Negreira was not involved, he assured that he was not satisfied with what happened. "The fact that it did not have a function does not exempt us from the responsibility of a flow of money. Even Barça fans agree that it is unspeakable and very negative (the payments). What has been done is an irregularity but we have to get to the point end. The mere fact of a payment is something harmful, but you have to be patient", explained the president of the RFEF.
"I have been a First Division footballer, sure the referees were wrong, but for it to have reached that level would be a surprise. A lot of manipulated information has been given, there is induced confusion. Issues that can be fixed with a comment, but That confusion is sometimes interesting. Soccer is passion, rage, when controversy is generated, that sells a lot," he added.
In addition to questioning Negreira's involvement, Rubiales came out in defense of the arbitration team. "I have spoken today with Medina Cantalejo. He is very good, very strong. We know that there are criticisms and comments. There are mistakes that are made in all professions, you have to be humble".
In this sense, he also spoke about the criticism that he himself receives. "I suffer many attacks that I think are unfair. Anyone who knows me knows that it does not affect me much. I am not made of stone but what affects me on a daily basis. What I do not like is falsehood or lies. I never deny myself to talk to nobody and I treat everyone with education. I understand that it is a very complicated position," he declared.
The top leader of the RFEF also spoke about the economic situation of LaLiga. "There is a tremendous problem of recession in the Spanish league. Revenues are going down and the clubs are having a hard time financially. We receive a percentage and it is getting less and less," he assured.
Along these lines, he made a direct allusion to the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas. "It's been a long time since I entered the rag. Those responsible for football have to be at another level. We are in a Federation that changed the entire refereeing establishment. Tebas is in a recession and we arrived with 140 million and now we are at 400. I think that for the good of Spanish football you have to review what is happening in the League. Maybe you have to give the League a spin so that there is something different", he commented.
During his stay at El Chiringuito, Rubiales also had time to talk about Luis Enrique and his relationship with the former coach. "Luis Enrique's streaming didn't bother them. Football is much more normal than it seems. If he was fine and felt that he was comfortable in this way, we had to make things easier for him. Luis Enrique did very good things. My relationship with he is good, I have a friend in him. He can count on me and he knows it. We have experienced hard moments and precious moments. Spanish football is in a moment of reconstruction", he concluded.
