Real Madrid demand 'utmost urgency' in Negreira Case after UEFA confirms receipt of Barcelona dossier
Real Madrid have called on UEFA to work with the "utmost urgency" on the Negreira Case after Europe's governing body confirmed on Thursday that it has received a substantial dossier of documentation on Barcelona from the Spanish capital club.
UEFA announced that it had been handed "a substantial amount of documents" from Los Blancos as part of its ongoing investigation into Barcelona over payments to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation — the so-called "Negreira case".
UEFA confirms receipt of 'substantial amount of documents'
"UEFA can confirm that it has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial amount of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the matter involving José María Enríquez Negreira, former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (the so-called 'Negreira case')," read a UEFA statement.
"UEFA's Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have also received these latest documents, which they will assess as part of their ongoing review of the case."
The investigation was originally opened in 2023, and the fresh documentation submitted by Madrid will now be added to the case and reviewed by UEFA officials. The probe is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Madrid: events of 'extraordinary seriousness'
The capital club responded with a strongly worded statement on its own website, urging UEFA not to allow the process to drag on any longer.
"The complaint filed by our club includes extensive documentation and evidence regarding events of extraordinary seriousness, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system," the statement read.
"Real Madrid C.F. considers it essential that, now that UEFA has this documentation, the investigation proceeds with the utmost urgency until its full conclusion, and that the competent bodies take the appropriate decisions in accordance with the severity of the verified facts."
"Our club will continue to actively collaborate with UEFA and take all actions within its power to clarify events that it deems incompatible with the principles of integrity, transparency, and fair play that should govern European football."
Madrid reportedly want Barcelona stripped of titles and banned from Europe
Real Madrid are reportedly pushing for Barcelona to be stripped of their titles and handed a ban from European competition for their role in the Negreira Case — an outcome president Florentino Pérez has long been working towards, having revealed earlier this year that the club had compiled a dossier on Barcelona with the express intention of sending it to Europe's governing body.
Laporta: allegations 'totally false' and relations 'broken down'
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has previously insisted that allegations his club made payments to influence referees were "totally false", and spoke at length about the entire Negreira Case at a press conference back in 2023.
The fallout has also shattered relations between Spain's two biggest clubs. Speaking at the end of September, Laporta accused Madrid of inserting itself into the case purely to keep it alive, saying: "They appeared in the Negreira case, which we understand was only to prolong the case and justify their television channel's actions and a predetermined narrative. And that's where the conflict lies..."
"What I hope is that they rectify this and that it gets resolved. As you know, relations with Real Madrid have broken down," he added, before claiming that "every time they speak, they attack Barcelona".
Latest front in Madrid's war with Spanish football's institutions
The dossier handover is the latest escalation in Real Madrid's running battle with the game's authorities. As reported on 23 September, Madrid issued a fierce statement condemning La Liga president Javier Tebas for what it described as an "intolerable" campaign of discrediting against the club, after Tebas attacked an opinion piece defending José Mourinho's complaints about refereeing in Madrid's 2-1 derby defeat to Atlético Madrid — an intervention the capital club said breached the La Liga chief's duty of neutrality.
With UEFA's Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors now assessing the new evidence alongside the existing case file, the next move belongs to Nyon — and Madrid want a verdict delivered with "utmost urgency" before the year is out.