BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu faces a vote of no confidence after membership members on Thursday gathered sufficient signatures to drive a referendum on his future.
The vote can be held after the membership verifies all of the signatures. Bartomeu must step down if two thirds of the votes are in opposition to him, and new elections must be scheduled.
The opposition members had introduced their intention to take away Bartomeu from the presidency after Lionel Messi instructed the membership final month he wished to go away amid one in every of its worst crises ever.
Messi criticized Barcelona membership administrators final season and mentioned he didn’t just like the course the membership was headed. He later personally accused Bartomeu of not holding his promise to let him go away totally free on the finish of the season.
Stress on Bartomeu elevated after the staff’s embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich within the quarterfinals of the Champions League, one of many worst within the membership’s historical past. The defeat prompted Bartomeu to announce large adjustments on the membership and name for brand spanking new presidential elections for subsequent March.
Additionally Thursday, former coach Quique Setién, who was changed by Ronald Koeman after the loss to Bayern, released a statement saying he deliberate to take authorized motion in opposition to the membership due to how he was let go. He mentioned it wasn’t till Wednesday that he was formally instructed that he was fired.
