Three years on from the Negreira case first coming to light, Barcelona and Real Madrid are still clashing over the matter. The Catalans have been accused of several crimes in relations to payments they made to former Technical Committee of Referees vice-president Enriquez Negreira, and a legal case is currently ongoing.
One of the charges that has been levelled against Barcelona is sporting corruption, and in a letter made public by Xavier Estrada Fernández (via Diario AS), Real Madrid have accused their Clasico rivals of exactly that.
“Given the general tone in the statements of the referees and former referees, it was that the system of control and evaluation of the performance of the referees, in which Mr. EnrĂquez Negreira had a special role, was arbitrary and perverted, the promotion and professional career of the referees depending on the mere will of those responsible for the CTA.
“Certainly, the incriminating elements that already existed when the Order of 14/3/2024 was issued, plus various additional elements that have been added as the police investigation progressed, amply justify the continuation of the present procedure by the procedures of the Abbreviated Procedure, and they undoubtedly allow us to enunciate a continued behaviour of sports corruption, with criminal roots and attributable to all those investigated.”
Barcelona continue to deny any wrongdoing
Throughout the last three years, Barcelona have regularly denied any wrongdoing regarding their payments to Negreira. They state that they paid for scouting reports on referees, which were received by the club’s match delegate, Carles Naval.
The legal case itself has been ongoing for two years, and at this stage, a resolution does not look close. The uncertainty surrounding the matter continues, but Real Madrid will remain at the heart of it, given their intention to appear as an injured party in the case against Barcelona.
