Real Madrid has accused FC Barcelona of paying former refereeing official Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018. Real Madrid urged UEFA to expedite its investigation into the Negreira case after the organization confirmed receipt of a dossier from them on Thursday. The case involves allegations that Barcelona paid millions of dollars to Negreira's company to influence referee decisions. Barcelona has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the payments were for reports and advice related to refereeing. UEFA's statement is the latest update in its investigation, which began in 2023, alongside an ongoing Spanish criminal case.
Barcelona allegedly paid over 7.3 million euros ($7.95 million) to firms owned by Negreira, who served as vice president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish football association from 1993 to 2018. In March 2023, Spanish prosecutors formally charged Barcelona, along with two former presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as Negreira and his son, Javier Enriquez Negreira, with corruption related to the case. Barcelona faces accusations of corruption in sports, fraudulent management, and falsification of mercantile documentation, which it denies, stating that the payments were for technical refereeing reports.
In June 2023, UEFA's investigators determined that Barcelona would not face any punishment, allowing the club to continue participating in European competitions. Real Madrid has accused Barcelona of sports corruption and influencing refereeing decisions through payments to Negreira. The club has joined the complaint filed by Spanish prosecutors and expressed concern about the severity of the allegations. Reports indicate that Real Madrid has requested that Barcelona be stripped of the nine titles won between 2001 and 2018, the period during which payments were made to Negreira.
Additionally, there are claims that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and FC Barcelona have been summoned to a Madrid court on November 25 for a conciliation hearing regarding possible criminal proceedings for defamation against Perez. This follows legal action initiated by Barcelona on June 12 over comments made by Perez in May concerning the Negreira case. Barcelona aims to compel Perez to retract statements they describe as knowingly false and damaging to the club's reputation. The dispute centers on comments Perez made at a May 12 news conference, where he characterized the Negreira case as "the most serious case of corruption in football" and claimed that Real Madrid had been denied league titles. Neither party has commented since UEFA acknowledged receipt of Real Madrid's dossier. The two clubs are scheduled to meet in the first leg of El Clasico on October 25 in La Liga, which will not be affected by the ongoing case but may add drama to the rivalry.