Barcelona have allegedly been charged with bribery following a search of the offices of the Spanish Football Federation by Spanish police.
The Catalan outfit are currently the subject of an investigation into payments made to a former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee.
Court documents previously revealed that the La Liga champions paid €7.3m (£6.4m) between 2001 and 2018 to two companies which were owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell have been hit with corruption charges as part of the investigation, but the club continue to deny any wrongdoing.
The club are insisting that they simply paid for technical reports on referees, which is not a crime, but there has allegedly now been a new development.
According to Reuters and Associated Press, police searched the offices near Madrid on Thursday following orders from the judge investigating the case.
El Debate are reporting that Barcelona have been accused with bribery by the public prosecutor following a raid of the referees' office by Spanish police.
Bartomeu and Rosell have also allegedly been charged alongside Negreira and his son, Javier Enriquez Romero.
Current Barcelona president Joan Laporta insisted earlier this year that the club would clear their name, saying in a statement: "Throughout its 123-year history, FC Barcelona has always been a model of fair play, both on and off the field. If we have won for so many decades, it has undoubtedly been as a result of talent, effort and knowledge.
"No campaign to discredit us will prevent us from continuing to be an organisation of reference in the world of sports, that is beloved and admired by millions of Catalans and many more millions around the world.
"I am fully convinced that FC Barcelona has never performed any act with the intention of altering the competition to gain an advantage.
"Consulting on technical-refereeing issues does not constitute any kind of illegal act. Consulting - as is done by the big clubs - was carried out transparently, with the corresponding invoices, at least in my first mandate as president.
"If there were any person or private entity outside FC Barcelona that had taken advantage of this context to commit irregularities, the club would be the first to fully investigate. Our image is at stake."
Prosecutors in Spain have also accused Barcelona of fraudulent management, breach of trust and falsification of business documents. body check tags ::
