FC Barcelona’s €7.3m Negreira case is back before El Clásico
BARCELONA — The investigation into FC Barcelona’s multimillion-euro payments to companies linked to a former senior Spanish refereeing official has returned to the spotlight after Real Madrid submitted a substantial dossier to UEFA, weeks before the rivals meet in El Clásico.
UEFA confirmed it had received documentation from Real Madrid concerning José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Spanish Football Federation. Its Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors will assess the material as part of an investigation opened in 2023 that remains ongoing.
The Negreira case centres on more than €7.3 million Barcelona paid between 2001 and 2018 to companies linked to Negreira, who served as vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee from 1993 until 2018. Barcelona acknowledges making the payments but says they were for technical reports and advice about referees, not to influence match officials or results.
Spanish prosecutors charged Barcelona in March 2023 alongside former club presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, Negreira and his son Javier Enríquez Negreira. The proceedings have included allegations of sports corruption, fraudulent management and falsification of commercial documentation. Barcelona denies wrongdoing.
Despite the scale and duration of the payments, no court has established that Barcelona paid a referee to manipulate a particular match or decision. The Spanish criminal proceedings are continuing, while UEFA has maintained its own investigation into whether the affair breached rules governing European competition. Barcelona has continued to receive a UEFA licence and compete in European tournaments.
Real Madrid, which joined the proceedings brought by Spanish prosecutors, has intensified pressure on UEFA by submitting what it describes as extensive evidence concerning the integrity of competitions and confidence in Spain’s refereeing system. The club has called for UEFA to conclude its investigation urgently. Spanish media reports have also linked Madrid to demands for Barcelona to be stripped of nine league titles won during the period covered by the payments, although no such sanction has been imposed.
Barcelona responded this week to reports suggesting UEFA had reopened the investigation, saying no new proceedings had been launched because the original case had never been closed. The club said UEFA had not made any new request for information or formally forwarded Real Madrid’s latest complaint to it.
The dispute has also become increasingly personal between the leadership of Spain’s two biggest clubs. Barcelona began legal action against Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez in June over comments he made about the Negreira case, accusing him of making statements it considers false, defamatory and damaging to the club’s reputation. Barcelona said it would pursue a criminal complaint if Pérez did not retract the remarks.
The renewed dispute comes ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid’s first La Liga meeting of the season at Spotify Camp Nou on 25 October.
The criminal proceedings in Spain will ultimately determine whether prosecutors can establish unlawful conduct behind the payments. Until then, Barcelona’s payments to companies linked to one of Spanish football’s most senior refereeing officials remain established, while allegations that the arrangement was used to influence referees or football results remain contested and unproven.
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