Benedito confident over Barcelona signatures in no-confidence vote

BARCELONA -- Agusti Benedito has said he has 7,278 signatures for his vote of no confidence against the Barcelona board.

However, confusion surrounds how long he has to collect the 16,570 that are needed to trigger a referendum.

On Wednesday, Barcelona spokesman Josep Vives said the deadline was Sept. 27, but former Barcelona presidential candidate Benedito has said it is Oct. 2.

Benedito has 14 working days to gather the signatures of 15 percent of the club's members from the day he collected the ballot papers from the club's offices, last Friday.

The disagreement over the deadline focuses over what constitutes a working day, with Barcelona saying Saturdays count and Benedito arguing that they do not.

Speaking at a news conference, he said: "We're above our expectations and we're convinced we're going to achieve it [the required number of signatures].

"On Oct. 2, Barca will accept the 17,000 or 18,000 signatures that we will deliver. I have no doubts. We are totally convinced that Saturdays are not working days -- our legal team and third party legal teams have recognised as much.

"Hopefully, the board present their resignation before Nov. 1. I think they are worried, they don't have any direction, you can tell with [president Josep Maria] Bartomeu. That's why they've created so many obstacles."

The next big opening for signatures to be collected comes on Tuesday, when Barca host Eibar in La Liga, and on Oct. 1 they have another home game against Las Palmas.

Camp Nou matches against Espanyol and then Juventus in the Champions League had represented an opportunity for an early flurry of support.

But following those games, Benedito remains short of the halfway mark and needs to find 9,292 more signatures, although time is on his side.

He and his team are also setting up stations around Catalonia where members can sign the vote of no confidence.

If Benedito does reach 16,570 signatures, a total of 66.6 percent of voters would need to go against the board in a referendum for an election to be called.

A four-game winning run, including an impressive victory over Juventus, has helped to restore a sense of calm following a turbulent summer.

But speaking exclusively to ESPN FC earlier this month, Benedito said sporting reasons were not the primary aim for his move.

He said Bartomeu's deal with the public prosecutor to settle the tax evasion case relating to the signing of Neymar from Santos was worthy of immediate resignation.

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