UEFA accepts Real Madrid's complaint against FC Barcelona in the 'Negreira Case'
This alleged scheme, in which FC Barcelona allegedly paid a referee official for decades in exchange for favors, has reached a critical stage.
Joan Laporta and Florentino Pérez, presidents of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, greet each other before a match in 2025
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) confirmed receipt of all documentation compiled by Real Madrid regarding the so-called Negreira Case, an alleged scheme currently under investigation that directly involves FC Barcelona. Real Madrid maintains that its longtime rival made payments totaling approximately $9.4 million (8.4 million euros) "over the past two decades" to José María Enríquez Negreira, a former high-ranking official of the Technical Committee of Referees—the body responsible for appointing referees, among other key functions—in exchange for favors.
"UEFA confirms that it has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial number of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the case of José María Enríquez Negreira, former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (the so-called Negreira Case). UEFA's ethics and disciplinary inspectors have also received these documents, which they will analyze as part of their review," the governing body of European soccer said on Thursday.
"Extremely serious allegations"
Before UEFA made its information public, Real Madrid issued a statement announcing the submission of its report, which contains "extensive documentation and evidence" necessary for FC Barcelona to be sanctioned in connection with the Negreira Case for "extremely serious acts."
Real Madrid's statement
UEFA has confirmed receipt of the complaint filed by Real Madrid CF and the continuation of the investigation into payments made over the past two decades by FC Barcelona to the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees.
The complaint filed by our club includes extensive documentation and evidence regarding matters 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 proceed as swiftly as possible until its complete conclusion, and that the competent bodies take the appropriate decisions in accordance with the gravity of the proven facts.
Our club will continue to actively cooperate with UEFA and take all actions within its power to clarify these events, which it considers incompatible with the principles of integrity, transparency, and fair play that must govern European soccer.
What is the Negreira Case?
This case, which is at a decisive stage leading up to a ruling, began in 2019, when Spanish tax authorities launched an audit of a company owned by Enríquez Negreira due to tax irregularities during the 2016–2018 fiscal years. Four years later, a program on the Spanish radio network Cadena SER publicly revealed the investigations into FC Barcelona's million-euro payments to Enríquez Negreira's company.
Following this revelation, the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office filed a formal complaint against FC Barcelona and two of its former presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep María Bartomeu, the club's current president, Joan Laporta—although the latter was subsequently removed from the case because any crime he may have committed had already exceeded the statute of limitations—, Enríquez Negreira, and other individuals allegedly linked to the case. Real Madrid, along with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and other public bodies, joined the case as private plaintiffs.
At this time, the criminal proceedings are definitively focused on allegations of corruption among private individuals in the sports sector, document forgery and breach of fiduciary duty, while expert analyses examine the referees' reports and the flow of funds. FC Barcelona maintains its innocence.
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