Barcelona are facing a new legal threat from UEFA, including a possible Champions League ban, because of its payments of millions of euros to a company linked to a Spanish refereeing official.
The European governing body asked on Thursday for an investigation into the matter, which is already being pursued by prosecutors in Spain.
Champions League regulations in effect since April 2007 allow UEFA to ban teams from the competition for one season if they were involved in fixing matches.
UEFA said on Thursday it asked disciplinary inspectors to "conduct an investigation regarding a potential violation of UEFA's legal framework by FC Barcelona in connection with the so-called Caso Negreira."
Court documents show Barcelona paid €7.3m (£6.5m) from 2001 until 2018 to the company of Jose Mara Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spanish football's refereeing committee.
Prosecutors in Spain have formally accused Barcelona of corruption in sports, fraudulent management and falsification of business documents. An investigating judge will decide if this will lead to charges.
No evidence has yet been published that referees or individual games were actually influenced
