Barcelona's Asian tour promoter claims fraud attempt

FC Barcelona were due to play their first pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe on Sunday, but at the last minute announced the cancellation of the game and put their Asian tour in jeopardy. D-DRIVE, the promoter in charge of the organisation, reassured about the matches in South Korea, but gave details of the reasons behind the cancellation of the match against the former team of Andrés Iniesta and David Villa, among others.

Saul Ham, general manager of the company and in charge of Barça's Asian tour, pointed the finger in a statement at the Yasuda Group, the Japanese company that sponsors Real Sociedad and which requested the organisation of the match, for an alleged attempt at fraud. 

"D-DRIVE was scheduled to receive full payment for the match today. However, the funds ultimately did not arrive. Instead, the Yasuda Group has repeatedly provided invalid and falsified documents, misleading us by falsely claiming that the payment had already been transferred to Korea," he said.

"We have obtained an audio recording from a Yasuda Group employee stating that their CEO ultimately did not send the money, which clearly confirms intentional fraud," continues the promoter's statement, which warns: "In light of these facts, FC Barcelona has made the correct and responsible decision to cancel the match in Japan. We will take legal action against the responsible Japanese entities to claim damages".

South Korean friendlies still to be played

On the other hand, FC Barcelona still has two other matches in South Korea against Seoul FC (31st July) and Daegu FC (4th August). The promoter assures that the only problems have arisen with the match against Vissel Kobe and that the organisation of these two matches continues as normal.

"In Korea, the company has fully prepared the matches and covered all related costs. As of today, only the flight costs remain to be paid. To our fans in Korea: please be reassured. We will do our utmost to provide unforgettable matches," the statement concluded.

In addition to these two friendlies, Barcelona are scheduled to play the Joan Gamper Trophy against Cesc Fabregas' Como on 10th August. However, they also suffered another setback as they had hoped to play it at the Spotify Camp Nou and will now have to play it at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.