A report by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia said that "an agreement has been reached" between Barcelona and the tax authorities, which would see the club fined around €5M ($5.6M) for errors made in the signing of Neymar, according to Julio Smith of SPORT. The pact would "exonerate" current President Josep Maria Bartomeu and former President Sandro Rosell. The tax authorities' legal team "had been asking for prison terms of two years and three months for Bartomeu, and seven years and six months for Rosell." Acceptance of the deal "would avoid the need for a court case" (SPORT, 6/10). In Barcelona, Toni Frieros reported the board of Barça "will meet on Monday in an ordinary session to rule on one of its most important issues in history -- the Neymar case." Along with his 20 directors, Bartomeu "will vote for or against whether the club, as a legal entity," must plead guilty to two criminal offenses of tax evasion. The offenses include "withholding or not making official" the financial year figures of '11 and '13 available after signing contracts with the company "N&N," which owns the rights of Neymar (SPORT, 6/12).
FREIXA SPEAKS OUT: Frieros reported in a separate piece a possible pact to shelve the case of Neymar "has been met by huge conflict," including that of former Barcelona Dir Toni Freixa. He "took to Twitter to vent his feelings." Freixa: "The shame of the pact is that Barça remains a criminal, that is exactly what the Prosecution and State Attorney want. I won't allow it." He said that this decision does not "apply to the Barça board but to the social mass of the club and, therefore, has asked for this matter to be discussed at an ordinary or extraordinary Assembly." Freixa was a candidate for the club's last presidential elections in '15 (SPORT, 6/11).
