Piqué on the Negreira case: "I would put my hand in the fire for Barcelona"

Gerard Piqué believes in Barcelona's innocence after they were accused of buying referees as part of the 'Negreira case' scandal.

"I would put my hand in the fire (and say) that Barça have not paid the referees," he told RAC1. "If you want to buy a referee, it's as easy as slippin him an envelope (of cash). You don't go to the vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees. It doesn't make any sense. From here on, we are used to conspiracies and campaigns..."

The 'Negreira case' has also served as an opportunity for certain sectors to take away some of the credit for Barca's success achieved over the last two decades. However, Piqué is not willing to let "such a golden era" be "tarnished".

He said: "As much as they want to dirty such a golden era, it is not what we won but how we won it. They can review everything. We were far, far superior. We didn't depend on the referees. I'd pass over it and move on to the next thing. It's true that the Public Prosecutor's Office is involved, but I trust the club."

Asked if he personally knew Negreira or his son, Piqué denied any contact and stated that "we didn't know anything. I think these reports are more for the coach and the coaches. The players already know the referees. On the other hand, the coaches sometimes come from outside and they need help to know the profile of each referee. From here on, as players, we didn't have any information."

Finally, on Real Madrid's position of joining the case in court, the former Barça player understood their decision, especially after the whole of LaLiga had already taken a stance.

"All the clubs except Madrid had taken a stand against Barça, Madrid was the only one that didn't," he said. "I understand that in the end, they did it. I get it, I guess they have a lot of pressure on them."