Spain and Portugal are considering including Morocco instead of Ukraine in the 2030 World Cup organization file

Morocco is set to replace Ukraine and join Spain and Portugal in their bid to host the 2030 World Cup, according to the British "The Athletic" network.

Last October, the Spanish Football Federation and its Portuguese counterpart announced Ukraine's accession to the two countries' offer to host the 2030 World Cup, and the European Football Association supported this proposal.

However, "The Athletic", in a report published on Friday, said that Spain and Portugal would negotiate Morocco's comprehensive accession to the joint file instead of Ukraine.

The network highlighted that Ukraine's participation as a host country is excluded, due to the alleged corruption case involving the President of the Ukrainian Federation, Andriy Pavelko, on charges of fraud and money laundering.

There is also uncertainty about whether Ukraine, currently in conflict with Russia, will recover to host World Cup group matches within seven years.

The proximity between Spain and Morocco makes the partnership more practical, as only 12 kilometers separate the two countries at the closest point, while there are more than 1,500 kilometers between Ukraine and Spain, while Portugal is further away.

Morocco had announced that it would bid to host the 2030 World Cup in July 2018, after five previous failed attempts to host the tournament in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026.

And if Morocco succeeds in hosting the 2030 World Cup, it will be the first country to host the World Cup matches in North Africa.

The bid from Portugal, Spain and Morocco is likely to face competition from two other joint bids, the first from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece, and the second bid from South America including Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.

The host country for the 2030 World Cup will be chosen at the 74th FIFA Congress in 2024.

It should be noted that the United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 finals.  Source: "The Athletic"

Officially The Spanish Prosecutor accuses FC Barcelona of corruption and bribery of arbitration officials

The Spanish Prosecutor accused FC Barcelona and former arbitration official Jose Negrera of "corruption", against the backdrop of "Barca" transferring suspicious payments to Negrera.

The prosecutions of the Public Prosecutor in Barcelona target the Catalan club in its moral capacity, in addition to its former presidents, Josep Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.

The case relates to alleged payments made by Barcelona to Negrera, the former vice-president of the technical arbitration committee, to provide the club with advice and oral advice on referee-related topics.

Accusations were also brought against Oscar Grau and Albert Soler, two former members of Bartomeu's team.

"FC Barcelona obtained and maintained a highly confidential verbal agreement with José María Enriques Negrera whereby he, in his capacity as Vice-President of the Technical Arbitration Committee and for money, performs actions that give FC Barcelona preference in the decisions of referees in the matches played by the club and therefore in the results and competitions," the prosecution said.

The prosecution indicated that the Catalan club paid a total of more than 7.3 million euros to Negrera between 1994 and 2018.

The accusations come just days after Barcelona's current president, Joan Laporta, confirmed that his club had never "bought referees."

"Let's make it clear that Barcelona never bought referees, and the club never had any intention of buying referees, ever," Laporta said on Tuesday.

Last month, Laporta launched a violent attack on Javier Tebas, president of the Spanish Football League, accusing him of "fabricating a campaign against Barcelona."

Tebas considered that Laporta should resign "if he did not explain well or in a more logical way why" the club paid this money to Enriques Negrera.  Source: AFP