Real Madrid have written to UEFA demanding “firm” and “exemplary” disciplinary action to be taken against Barcelona for historic payments made to the former vice president of the Spanish refereeing association.
Barça paid companies linked to José María Enríquez Negreira more than €7 million between 2001 and 2018. The Spanish champions have always maintained the money was in exchange for “technical reports on referees and refereeing,” denying buying match officials.
Madrid, however, say it is clear Barça yielded “influence over the refereeing body” and are calling on European football’s governing body to punish the Catalan side.
“Regarding the so-called ‘Negreira Case,’ the club have submitted a written statement to UEFA addressed to its disciplinary bodies,” Madrid announced in a statement Wednesday.
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“The club has informed UEFA of the existence of significant evidence that conclusively reinforces the indications already known since the beginning regarding the existence of prolonged, opaque payments lacking any verifiable justification, made by Barcelona to Negreira through various corporate structures.
“These facts constitute, from the perspective of sports disciplinary law, a systemic risk of utmost severity for the integrity of competitions, as they reveal the existence of a structure of undue influence over the refereeing body, incompatible with the essential principles of competitive equality, neutrality, impartiality, and unpredictability of sports outcomes.”
The payments were first revealed in 2023, with UEFA confirming at the time that its ethics and disciplinary inspectors would investigate a potential violation of the organisation’s “legal framework.”
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However, there have been no further updates from UEFA since then.
“Madrid has urged the immediate resumption of the disciplinary proceedings previously initiated by UEFA, considering it unacceptable that this situation has persisted over time, as its continuation seriously compromises the credibility of football, its institutions, and its leaders,” Wednesday’s statement added.
“Therefore, the club demands a firm, exemplary, and immediate response in the sporting domain, independently of the ongoing judicial proceedings.”
Asked for comment on Madrid’s letter, UEFA declined to respond, reiterating that its disciplinary bodies operate independently and that it does not comment on ongoing or potential proceedings.
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Barça’s payments to Negreira are also the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Spanish courts.
Madrid’s decision to push for action to be taken against their Clásico rivals comes after the relationship between the two clubs soured earlier this year following the breakdown of the European Super League project, which they had been working together on.
As partners, there had been an uneasy truce between Spanish football’s behemoths, but that has unraveled over the last few months.
Speaking at a news conference in May, Pérez called the Negreira case “the biggest scandal in history,” adding that Madrid had been robbed of as many as seven LaLiga titles due to it.
Barça have responded to Pérez by threatening legal action. Last week, the club submitted a “mandatory conciliation claim prior to the filing of a criminal complaint for an offence of slander under Article 205 of the Penal Code against Mr. Pérez.”
“The purpose of this claim is for Mr. Pérez to retract certain statements that he made with knowledge of their falsity, and which are slanderous and offensive to the image and reputation of the club,” Barça said in a statement.
