Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, has once again stirred up controversy surrounding the “Negreira” case involving FC Barcelona, stating that the Catalan club’s “best sporting era” suspiciously coincided with allegations of paying more than 8 million euros to referees over 17 years, which he deemed a sporting injustice.
Pérez also highlighted the significant disparity in the number of red cards received by each club during that period, asserting that this situation is “unnatural.”
Pérez seized the opportunity of attending the club’s recent General Assembly meeting to launch a scathing attack on several prominent football entities, including UEFA, La Liga, and FC Barcelona.
According to the Spanish newspaper “Marca,” the Real Madrid president used this occasion to reopen the case of referees related to Barcelona, accusing the Catalan club of paying approximately 8.4 million euros to referees in the Spanish League between 2001 and 2018.
The roots of the case, known as the “Negreira Case,” date back to accusations that surfaced in 2023, when José María Enríquez Negreira was the vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees in the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Negreira received these substantial sums from Barcelona, which the club claimed were for arbitration reports and advice, while both parties denied any insinuations of bribery. Investigations are still ongoing regarding sporting integrity.
Pérez reignited the controversy, pointing out in his speech that the coincidence of these payments with Barcelona’s sporting successes is “unnatural” and raises questions.
Pérez said in his speech: “It is not normal for Barcelona to pay more than 8 million euros to the vice president of the Referees Committee for 17 years, for whatever reason… I repeat, for whatever reason, this is not normal.”
He pointed out that Negreira “held a pivotal position in the arbitration structure,” where he was responsible for promotions and demotions. He added: “This period coincides, coincidentally, with Barcelona’s best sporting results in our country.”
Pérez presented graphs and data that he said indicated a clear imbalance regarding the red cards received by the two teams domestically and in Europe.
Pérez added: “Real Madrid is the only club that attended the trial… Four presidents maintained payments of millions of euros for 17 years to the vice president of the Referees Committee.”
He also criticized the position of the current head of the Referees Committee: “Fran Soto asked us to move forward and forget the Negreira case. Who will forget it? The fact is that the referees involved are still there. It is a situation that prevents them from working impartially.”
He asked angrily: “How can the referee of the match, before the Copa del Rey final, state that the referees will take action against our club? Before the Copa del Rey final? He should have been removed, but no action was taken.”
Pérez also pointed to La Liga’s role in the case of the Barcelona match that was supposed to be held in Miami: “Even their captain, Frenkie de Jong, doesn’t think it’s normal.”
He continued: “It is also unnatural that La Liga supports two teams, Barcelona and Villarreal, who receive additional financial incentives to play in Miami… However, we have to listen to Tebas comparing this to American football.”
Barcelona’s arbitration controversy continues
Pérez’s choice of this important occasion to attack Barcelona reflects that this issue remains at the forefront of his discourse towards the traditional rival.
The president of Real Madrid believes that this issue affects the integrity of La Liga and that Barcelona’s justifications are unconvincing. It remains to be seen whether Barcelona, La Liga, or the Referees Committee will formally respond to Pérez’s latest statements.
A thorny issue
Negreira himself admitted, in his initial testimonies, that he received the money, but claimed that it was not intended to bribe referees, but to ensure “arbitration neutrality” towards Barcelona, a justification that aroused further suspicion and criticism in sports and media circles.
The investigation also included a number of former Barcelona officials, including former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as financial officials at the club.
The issue has sparked a sharp division in Spanish football, with Real Madrid and several other clubs exploiting the situation to direct scathing criticism at Barcelona and demand formal clarifications from the Spanish Federation and UEFA.
As a result, UEFA intervened in the case and opened an independent investigation to assess the possibility of punishing Barcelona at the European level, before later deciding to allow the team to participate in the Champions League pending the completion of judicial investigations in Spain.
