BARCELONA: Sandro Rosell may have quit as Barcelona president but he is still being pursued by the Brazilian media over the issue of his commissions for arranging the World Cup hosts’ friendly matches.

Last summer it emerged that the former ISL Spain and Nike marketing director had received $8.3m for arranging 24 matches under a contract agreed in 2006 with the CBF. The Brazilian confederation was then headed by Rosell’s long-time friend and business associate Ricardo Teixeira.

Estado of Sao Paulo, which claimed the money had been siphoned through a shell company in the United States, has returned to the issue with further allegations.

These claim that Rosell, shortly before taking over Barcelona president in 2010, reaped $3m from International Sports Events which shared, with the CBF, rights to organise Brazil friendlies through to 2022.

ISE is considered a subsidiary of the Saudi/Qatari Albaraka Group – to which Rosell, also in 2010, sold his agency Bonus Sports Marketing. Previously BSM had helped establish the Aspire Football Dreams programme based at the famed sports city in Doha, the Qatari capital.

Estado has suggested that ISE and Rosell agreed a later contract to help arrange 12 Brazil friendlies in between November 2011 and 2012.

These included games against Egypt in Qatar, a US tour with three matches against the US, Mexico and Argentina in in Washington DC, Arlington and New York respectively and two friendlies against Poland (in Wroklaw) and Sweden (in Stockholm).

The contract has prevented Brazil’s national coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, from hand-picking suitable opposition ahead of the World Cup. Scolari has always insisted that he could only work within the confines of the match schedule presented to him.

Another Brazilian report has claimed that Rosell risks up to eight years’ jail if the judiciary presses damages and compensation claims over a friendly between Brazil and Portugal in Brasilia in 2008.

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