According to Xoilac TV Barcagate refers to a scandal involving the Spanish football club FC Barcelona. It is an investigation into allegations that the management of former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu secretly conducted a smear campaign against players, staff, and current and former directors who did not support Bartomeu’s regime.
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What is Barcagate?
Barcagate is a scandal that began after a group of Barcelona members called Dignitat Blaugrana filed a complaint. They filed this complaint after the I3 Ventures story surfaced, alleging that Barcelona paid the company to conduct social media monitoring and publish articles to enhance Bartomeu’s image and damage the reputation of players and some former directors.
Former President Bartomeu – The Focus of the Barcagate Scandal
The Day the Scandal Broke
On February 17, 2020, Cadena SER revealed that Barcelona had contracted I3 Ventures since late 2017. This is a media company owned by Argentine businessman Carlos Ibanez, contracted to create nearly 100 Twitter and Facebook accounts to attack influential individuals at Camp Nou, including Xavi, Gerard Pique, Pep Guardiola, Carles Puyol, and former president Joan Laporta. Even M10 (Lionel Messi) was criticized by I3 Ventures’ accounts for delaying his contract renewal with Barca.
Accused Crimes
The judicial investigation examines a possible crime due to poor management if Barca overpaid for these services compared to market value.
They also investigate possible corruption if any directors received commissions.
Specifically, Barca paid one million euros per year to I3 Ventures for the aforementioned tasks. But according to SER, Barca paid with multiple invoices, each valued below 200,000 euros. Thus, Barca’s invoices with I3 Ventures were executed without the approval of the board of directors. And these payments were not only for I3 Ventures but also for five other companies owned by Carlos Ibanez.
Barcelona’s Official Response
Barca immediately issued an official statement denying the allegations just hours after SER’s announcement, although admitting I3 Ventures was one of the club’s suppliers. But shortly after, the Camp Nou team quickly terminated its contract with I3 Ventures.
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External Audit
Barca hired an independent auditing firm to audit the contract with I3 Ventures. The company the club chose was PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
On July 3, PWC completed the audit and concluded that the club did not conduct a smear campaign. They also stated that the fees paid were within the market value of the services at that time.
Consequences
After the scandal, Bartomeu was forced to resign in October 2020. Barcelona also experienced a major financial and sporting crisis, losing key players and facing difficulties in management.
The incident severely damaged trust between players and management, especially with big names like Lionel Messi, who publicly criticized the management for their lack of transparency.
FC Barcelona’s image and reputation were severely affected. The scandal sparked outrage among fans and tarnished the image of one of the world’s biggest football clubs.
Conclusion
Barcagate is a major scandal in FC Barcelona’s history, involving the use of social media to attack players, former players, and critics of the management. This scandal caused many serious consequences for the club, from the collapse of the old management to financial problems and internal relations.