Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, is accused of a referee scandal by a court.

As part of the inquiries into purported payments of bribery to referees, Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, has been indicted, a Spanish court announced on Wednesday.

Charges have already been brought against the team, two of its previous presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, the former head of Spain’s referee organization, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, and his son.

Laporta faces accusations over his tenure as Barcelona’s first president, which spanned from 2003 to 2010.
The investigating judge stated in his report, which was released on Wednesday, that he believed Laporta was too serious to benefit from the statute of limitations.

Between 2001 and 2018, Negreira is said to have received over seven million euros ($7.5 million) from Barcelona through businesses that reportedly provided refereeing reports for the team.

The 27-time Spanish champions, Barcelona, have been fending off allegations for months and insist they have done nothing improper.