Real Madrid lodge dossier with UEFA over Barcelona payments to Negreira
Real Madrid said on Thursday it had sent UEFA "evidence of extraordinary gravity" relating to Barcelona's payments to former referees' committee vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, linked to allegations that Barcelona paid 8.4m euros (£7.2m) between 2001 and 2018. UEFA said the submission would be examined as part of its ongoing review.
The payments were first revealed amid an investigation by tax authorities and have been the subject of scrutiny since 2023. Barcelona have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, maintaining the sums were for scouting and technical reports provided by Negreira and his Dasnil 95 company. It has been alleged previously that money paid to Negreira was being used to bribe referees, which Barcelona have strenuously denied.
Real's new dossier is reported to exceed 50,000 pages and, the club said, contains material "which directly affects the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system". The club presented this package to UEFA after the issue resurfaced in public debate.
UEFA described the submission as "substantial" and said its ethics and disciplinary inspectors will "assess it as part of their ongoing review". In June 2023, UEFA investigators decided Barcelona would not face any punishment and the club has continued to participate in European competition since that decision.
In a statement on Thursday, Real said it wanted the investigation to progress "as quickly as possible until its complete conclusion" and urged officials to "adopt the corresponding decisions in accordance with the seriousness of the proven facts". The club called for the process to move to a definitive resolution based on the documentation provided.
Barcelona replied on Thursday that UEFA had "not opened any new proceedings" against them and reiterated their cooperation with investigators: "Proceedings were initiated in 2023, with the appointment of two investigators who have since carried out the action they deemed appropriate. The club has always complied with all their requests. These proceedings have not been reopened because they have never been closed. It is up to the investigators to determine what action, if any, they consider appropriate regarding this documentation. As of today, they have not made any new requests to Barcelona nor have they forwarded Real Madrid's complaint to the club. Should they do so, the club will respond accordingly. In accordance with the applicable legislation, this file is subject to the outcome of the criminal proceedings taking place in Spain and will remain therein."
A Barcelona court has been examining the case since 2023 and that judicial investigation remains open. La Liga president Javier Tebas said in March 2023 that the competition body "could not take any action" because it happened too long ago and described the case as "time-barred in sports law, but not in criminal law".
UEFA's ethics and disciplinary inspectors will now assess the materials submitted by Real as part of their ongoing review, while the judicial process in Spain continues and the criminal-case file remains with Spanish authorities.
