Police raided Barcelona’s stadium on Monday March 1, in a search and seize operation, with reports claiming former president Josep Maria Bartomeu amongst those arrested.

The arrests relate to the “Barca-gate” scandal which saw it revealed that club officials launched a smear campaign against current and former players who were critical of the club and Bartomeu, allegedly hiring a social media company to publicly discredit them. 

The club said in an official statement “FC Barcelona expresses its utmost respect for the judicial process in place and for the principle of presumed innocence for the people affected within the remit of this investigation.”

Bartomeu who resigned last year to prevent Lionel Messi from leaving the club, was reportedly arrested on suspicion of “unfair administration, corruption between individuals and money laundering” alongside current chief executive Òscar Grau, Barcelona’s head of legal services Román Gómez Pontí and Bartomeu’s former advisor Jaume Masferrer was also reportedly detained.