Real Madrid Presses UEFA to Act Against FC Barcelona in 'Negreira Case'

After months of speaking on the matter, especially at the start of the summer of 2026, Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, finally sees that one of his biggest complaints has been heard.

The 'Negreira case' is not new; it has circulated in the media for years and became widely known in 2023, when Aleksander Čeferin, current president of UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), declared it an extremely serious situation. Despite this, the association did not officially open an investigation.

But what is the Negreira case? Between 2001 and 2018, FC Barcelona allegedly paid the then second-in-command of the Technical Committee of Referees, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, around 8.4 million euros, and, apparently, in exchange for the club's bribes, they received many benefits.

Now, according to what was revealed this week, UEFA has finally reactivated Barcelona's file after receiving a complaint from Real Madrid. The aforementioned club has demanded that all titles won in the years when the Catalan club paid the referee be taken away.

With a lot of evidence and statements, Real Madrid put its disagreement on the table. Now, with the file open and an inspector investigating it in depth, UEFA has issued a statement.

"UEFA can confirm that it has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial number of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the matter involving Jose Maria Enriquez 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 latest documents, which they will evaluate as part of their ongoing review of the case."

Real Madrid did not hesitate to speak out after the association's announcement. The white club was the only one in Spain to join the cause now under investigation, with Florentino the most vocal.

On Thursday, Real Madrid released a statement on its official media channels, reaffirming that it has presented sufficient evidence and documentation on this 'extremely serious' matter affecting the competition and the refereeing system, and that it considers it of the utmost importance to advance the investigation.

"Real Madrid C.F. considers it essential that, once UEFA has this documentation, the investigation advances with the maximum speed until its complete conclusion and that the competent bodies adopt the decisions that correspond according to the seriousness of the proven facts."

The club, led by Florentino, is ready for the matter to reach its ultimate conclusion, stating that it will continue to actively support UEFA in clarifying the facts related to the case.