Former Barcelona President Joan Laporta said that a deal cut with the Spanish tax authorities over the signing of Neymar in '13 "should not be allowed as it stains the club's image" while "saving the behinds" of current leaders, according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN. Barça announced it reached an agreement with Spain's tax authority to pay €15M ($16.8M) in owed taxes and a €5.5M ($6.2M) fine, while "admitting the club was at fault in the complex transfer which brought Neymar to the Camp Nou." Laporta said, "Barcelonismo must react immediately. It cannot wait until an AGM is called, which will be when it suits them. There must be a strong reaction to avoid this transaction. They want to save their own behinds. There should be mobilization so that they do not continue at the club. They are using Barça to get themselves acquitted. It is intolerable. The honor of Barça must be defended until the end, but instead they prefer that Barça is condemned for tax fraud." Asked if he might present a motion of censure, which would "lead to a members vote on the continuation of the current board," Laporta said that "may be the best" action to take. He said, "With this decision, Bartomeu is not fit to lead Barcelona, nor is the board" (ESPN, 6/14).
