A group of "disgruntled Barcelona members" calling themselves "Go Barca" are proposing an official "motion of censure" against Barcelona President Sandro Rosell and the club's current board, according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN. On Monday, two Go Barca members, Joan Arnes and Jordi Cases, "reportedly submitted the relevant paperwork required at the club's offices." Go Barca is claiming that Rosell and three Barcelona VPs, Josep Maria Bartomeu, Javier Faus, and Jordi Cardoner, "have lied and tricked" the club's members. Go Barca is "particularly unhappy with the club's commercial dealings with Qatar and its handling of the exit of former defender Eric Abidal." Barcelona statutes mandate that the club now has "five days to provide the paperwork which could lead to a referendum to decide whether Rosell and the current board should be officially 'censured.'" The support of 5% of Barca's "approximately 110,000 members would be required to call this vote." At a Barcelona annual general meeting next Saturday, "a proposed change to its statutes to be proposed by the board would -- coincidentally or not -- raise this requirement" to 15%. Go Barca is not "thought to include any heavyweight potential challengers" to the current board, unlike the "'elefant blau' group led by Joan Laporta, in which Rosell himself was involved, which censured then president Josep Lluis Nunez in 1997, and led to Nunez eventually leaving the club in 2000." A press conference will be held Wednesday, when Go Barca figures "are to give more details of their issues with the current board and plans for change" (ESPN, 9/30). SOCCEREX reported that Barcelona's "contentious commercial agreement with Qatar Sports Investments has played a crucial part in its improving financial fortunes over recent years" (SOCCEREX, 10/1).
