Barcelona have been stunned by Judge Ruz's decision to bring Sandro Rosell, Josep Maria Bartomeu and the club to trial. They will stand trial over the signing of Brazilian striker Neymar. The accusations come over tax fraud and administrative irregularities in bringing to player to the club.
Barcelona declared in a statement:
"On this historic decision, FC Barcelona wishes to make the following statements:
"First, the Club does not agree with the aforesaid verdict, as indicated by the arguments contained in the documents presented in defence of the said persons, and that basically describe in detail how it is not true that a criminal offence has been committed.
"Second, in response to the aforesaid verdict, FC Barcelona announces that it shall be appealing against the same, although this announcement must be made notionally, because its representatives have not yet received any formal notification from the Court.
"Third, it is strange, and breeds uncertainty, that after the Club's defence should have pressed charges of unsuitability against Judge Ruz yesterday, the judge should settle the case today before the media. It is difficult to understand and could possibly be misconstrued, that on the very same day that the judge formally requests assistance from the Public Ministry that the act whereby the Judge has already resolved this question is announced via the media, without issue of the report or the club being notified of the same.
"This can only be explained when it is confirmed that all of the judicial resolutions contain, word for word, all of the considerations made by the Ministry of Public Prosecution, without at any time attending to any of the requests made by the parties, or even implementing the procedures requested by the defence.
"Fourth, the club shall immediately press charges against the unusual speed with which the procedures are being carried out. A speed that does not respect the usual rates for such procedures, nor offers guarantees for the parties, such as, for example, the fact that to date no statement by the FC Barcelona legal representative has been heard, although this had been agreed with the magistrate.
"The Club, both with regard to this case and other aggressions received in its 115 years of history, will not tolerate such actions, especially when it has offered to collaborate and explain, from the start, all of the events surrounding the transfer of the player Neymar Jr.
"Finally, FC Barcelona wishes to send out a message of calm to its members and inform them that, if to date it has been especially careful with the ways it has dealt with this unpleasant affair, from now on, and given that the internal dynamics of this difficult affair go beyond the strictly legal sphere, the Club shall be doing everything possible to set matters straight, as it always has done throughout its history, and will continue offering every success possible to its members."
