October 2: Real Madrid has presented UEFA with new documentation on the Negreira case. The case centers on payments made by FC Barcelona to José María Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of Spain, over two decades.
In 2023, UEFA launched an investigation. In Spain there is a criminal case in progress.
On Thursday, UEFA confirmed that it “has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial amount of documents related” to the case. “UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary inspectors have also received these latest documents which they will assess as part of their ongoing review.”
Barcelona have said that the payments, which amounted to more than 7 million euros, were made for technical arbitration reports.
In a statement, Real Madrid said on Thursday: “The complaint submitted by our club includes extensive documentation and evidence on facts of extraordinary gravity, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system.”
“Real Madrid CF considers it essential that, now that UEFA has this documentation, the investigation is carried out with the utmost urgency until its full conclusion, and that the competent bodies take the appropriate decisions in accordance with the seriousness of the verified facts.”
The presentation of new documents will aggravate the relationship between the two clubs. Last May, Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, said that Barcelona had stolen league titles.
The Catalan club has stressed that the new document presented by Real Madrid is not equivalent to a new procedure.
In a statement, FC Barcelona assured: “The procedure began in 2023, with the appointment of two investigators who have since then carried out the actions they thought appropriate. The Club has always attended to all their requests. These proceedings have not been reopened because they have never been closed.”
“According to the applicable legislation that regulates this matter, these procedures are subject to the resolution of the criminal case that is currently being heard in Spain and will continue to be so.”
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