Courts Order Barcelona To Pay €57 Million To Sogecable

Barça have run into a bit of a problem off the pitch after they were found to be in breach of their contract with Spanish pay TV company, Sogecable.

It appears that Real Madrid are not the only Spanish powerhouse in trouble at present. Barcelona were yesterday found guilty of breaking certain conditions in their agreement with pay TV company, Sogecable.

The contract had stipulated that Barça were to hand their income derived from all international sporting competitions from the 2003/04 to the 2007/08 season, including football, basketball and even handball, to Sogecable in exchange for a fixed amount of compensation.

The Catalan giants had argued that it was their understanding that they only had to shell out money earned from UEFA television rights, and not from other advertising and image rights.

The courts were in favour of the media group and have ordered Barcelona to pay €49.3 million in compensation plus 16% tax, which will bring the total to €57.2 million.

Barça, however, have confirmed that they have accepted and will uphold the verdict but president, Joan Laporta, is unperturbed by the hefty sum.

“Telefónica currently owes Barcelona €30 million while the other €30 million will be covered by TV3 [local Catalan TV station], reason why this will not impact on our liquid capital,” he assured.