Lleida: a club on the way to its second death

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  • Lleida Esportiu, which was born from the ashes of the historic Lleida Sports Union, looks out into the abyss

  • The City Council threatens to take away the field and the players and the fans are planted

  • The Civil Guard registered the club on suspicion of fraud to Social Security, which owes 1.6 million euros to the Treasury

The Lleida Esportiu was born in 2011 from the ashes of the Lleida Sports Union, that after having played in First in the 93-94 season, he lowered the blind in Second B after 72 years of existence. Since then the new club has survived in the third state category, but a decade after its reincarnation, economic problems loom back into the abyss.

Last Sunday the players decided to say enough, tired of the precarious situation: the club does not pay not only the payroll of players and coaches of the first team or of the rest of the employees, but also the refereeing of the quarry teams. Something that has not only caused sanctions but has led to the three groups of the base (alevín, infanti and cadet) not being able to play their matches last weekend after the Federation did not designate referees for them.

The previous week the first team had already made a break before the match against Cerdanyola. On Sunday, before Lleida-TerrassaThere were four acts of protest: the first, a rally in front of the Camp d’Esports before the clash against Terrassa in which the players of the first team and also the families of the homegrown players participated; when the referee whistled, the local players and coaches stayed on the sidelines for a minute looking at a newly empty box; at halftime some fans took the rostrum to symbolize the misrule that exists; and at the end of the meeting there was a peaceful invasion of the field to show solidarity with the squad.

“The locker room is trashed”

“The locker room is destroyed, worse than ever,” he acknowledged Gabri in the press room. The ex-Azulgrana, now a Lleida coach, went straight to the booth after the 0-1 defeat. He needed to be alone, he was very touched, as he confessed. And he could not witness live the images of the peaceful invasion of the field, with the fans hugging the players.

“In the end, these situations bring the groups together. Fans and players are fighting for the same thing, all of us. We want to continue competing and the fans want to continue going to the field. I don’t want to believe that it can end. I hope that is not the case,” he said. , after the threat of the City Council to leave them without a field.

The Lleida City Council will bring to the Plenary the end of the agreement for the transfer of the Camp d’Esports to Lleida Esportiu if the club does not justify compliance. On November 10, he gave the entity 10 days to present allegations before a report that stated the fiscal and social breaches. In addition to the non-payment of the payrolls of the first staff, technicians and other employees and the debt with Social Security, the Treasury denounced that as of December 2019 Lleida owed 1,587,075.99 euros.

The image of the city

“Enough is enough,” said the Mayor, Miquel Pueyo, who assured that they had made this decision in defense of «the image of the city, the Sports Field and the interest of grassroots sport ». On October 5, the Civil Guard, in collaboration with Labor inspection officials, carried out an administrative inspection of Lleida Esportiu within the framework of the Operation Strike 11, in which alleged crimes of Social Security fraud and money laundering are investigated.

“Every year there are complaints of non-payments but when the Civil Guard entered a municipal facility, concern increased”, explains Ignasi Amor to this newspaper. “It generates sadness, is complicated and has many connotations,” says the sports councilor, who guarantees that if at the end the use of the Camp d’Esports is withdrawn from the club, the quarry will continue to play in municipal facilities. If Lleida Esportiu disappears, the Atlético Lleida It would remain as the main club in the city and plays in Primera Catalana.

No news from the owners

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Since the City Council issued the ultimatum, agreed with all the groups and which expires this Thursday, it has not received communication from the president, Jordi Esteve, who is co-owner of the club with his brother Albert. They both took over the club a decade ago after Annabel Junyent, who had won the auction to inherit the Plaza del Lleida, did not present the guarantee.

Tatxo BenetThe owner of the UE Lleida for 12 years, he had transferred his share package to him in 2010, but Junyent could not prevent the club’s bankruptcy, nor did he manage to raise the million euros to which he had committed to inherit the federative rights.



Reference-www.elperiodico.com

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