As it strengthens for the upcoming season with the return of José Mourinho to the bench and top players like Konaté, Dumfires, Bernardo Silva, and Marc Cucurella, following the reelection of Florentino Pérez, Real Madrid has reopened one of the most serious controversies in recent years in European football: the "Negreira Case". During his campaign to continue leading the white club, the president had shown the intention to go all out with this legal process involving Barcelona, and finally took the first step.
The legal case investigates the payments made by the Catalan team between 2001 and 2018 to companies related to José María Enríquez Negreira,vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). According to the investigation, the transfers would have reached approximately 7.3 million euros.
While the Justice tries to determine whether those disbursements corresponded to arbitration advisory services or if they had any impact on the competition, the Catalan club has maintained since the beginning of the process that all contracts were legal and had a professional counterpart.
Real Madrid accuses Barcelona of making payments to companies linked to Negreira between 2001 and 2018
This Wednesday, through an official statement, the Merengue reported that it has submitted a document to UEFA to request that the disciplinary file related to the complaint be resumed and that possible sporting sanctions be evaluated. "The club has informed UEFA of the existence of relevant evidence that conclusively reinforces the indications already known since the beginning about the existence of prolonged, opaque payments lacking any verifiable justification", begins the text.
Furthermore, Real Madrid pointed out that these payments represent a serious problem for sporting transparency. In this regard, it considered that the investigated facts constitute "a systemic risk of maximum severity for the integrity of competitions", as they suggest a possible structure of influence over the refereeing body incompatible with the principles of competitive equality, neutrality, and impartiality.
Based on that interpretation, the institution demanded that UEFA immediately reactivate the file it had opened at the time and adopt the measures it deems appropriate. "Real Madrid has urged the immediate resumption of the disciplinary file initiated by UEFA", the text indicated, while describing it as "unacceptable" that the situation has lasted so long.
Real Madrid considers the delay in UEFA's resolution on the Negreira Case unacceptable
In this sense, for the White House, the continuation of the case without a sporting resolution "seriously compromises the credibility of football, its institutions, and its leaders", which is why it demanded a response "firm, exemplary, and immediate" from the competent bodies.
Finally, the entity reminded that it continues to be a private accuser in the legal process taking place in Spain and assured that it will continue to promote all actions it deems necessary. "Real Madrid reaffirms its commitment to defending the essential values of sport and will continue to promote any actions necessary to ensure that acts of this nature do not go unpunished", concluded the statement.
