Laporta to continue at Barca despite vote defeat

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-7  |     ONLINE EDITION

BARCELONA president Joan Laporta lost a confidence vote in his administration by club members yesterday, but just avoided being forced to call a presidential election.

Club member Oriol Giralt's motion criticising Laporta's management won 23,870 votes, 60.60 percent of the 37,294 cast. There were 14,871 votes, 37.75 percent, in favour of the current administration.

Giralt fell just short of winning the 66 percent of votes needed to force the board out.

"The board should examine this result closely because it sends a clear message. If I were president I would resign," Giralt told a news conference.

Laporta said he would see out his term in office until 2010.

"The motion hasn't succeeded," he said. "We understand this is a punishment for the last two years and will work to correct things and to restore the institutional stability needed at this club."

Giralt's hand had been strengthened when Laporta's former aide Sandro Rosell had said he would stand if the motion was successful.

Rosell was responsible for bringing Ronaldinho and Deco to the club when he was Laporta's vice president, before resigning in 2005, saying he was unhappy with his boss's domineering style.

NO SILVERWARE

Laporta presided over the club when it won back-to-back league titles in 2005 and 2006, along with the Champions League in 2006, but has been heavily criticised for his running of the club over the past two years.

Fans staged several protests calling for his resignation towards the end of last season after the team failed to win any silverware for a second successive year.

The club responded by sacking coach Frank Rijkaard and appointing ex-captain and Nou Camp favourite Pep Guardiola as his replacement.