An extract of Real Madrid's 'forceful' allegations against Barcelona in the ongoing 'Negreira Case' has been published by former referee Xavier Estrada Fernandez, one of the main whistleblowers in the investigation.
For those unaware, Barcelona are alleged to have paid €8.4 million (£7.3m) to companies owned by Jose María Enríquez Negreira, a former vice president of Spanish football's refereeing committee, between 2001 and 2018.
Barcelona have consistently denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.
In a press conference, club president Joan Laporta called the case a 'gigantic reputational discrediting campaign' against Barcelona due to 'defamatory insinuations'.
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He also accused those involved of 'wanting to destroy one of the emblems of Catalonia such as FC Barcelona' and believed that 'Barca would not come out of this harmed'.
Last year, Real Madrid requested that the investigation be extended by six months to 'clarify everything that happened surrounding those alleged payments,' according to the Spanish publication Marca.
Los Blancos joined the legal proceedings after a period of assessment, as they deem the matter could have had sporting implications. The case has been ongoing for three years.
This week, the Negreira case has once again become a talking point after former referee Xavier Estrada Fernandez published an extract of Madrid's allegations, which includes 'forceful' claims against the Catalan club.
Fernandez has been one of the main whistleblowers in the so-called Negreira case.
As per Marca, an extract read: "The general tone in the statements of the referees and former referees was that the system of control and evaluation of the performance of the referees, in which Mr. Enriquez Negreira had a special role, was arbitrary and was perverted, depending on the promotion and professional career of the referees on the mere will of those responsible for the CTA."
Real Madrid would go on to mention 'sporting corruption' in the extract.
"Certainly, the incriminating elements that already existed at the time of the order of 14/3/2024, plus several additional elements that have been added as the police investigation has progressed, amply justify the continuation of the present proceedings by way of summary proceedings, and undoubtedly allow the enunciation of a continuing pattern of sporting corruption, of criminal roots and attributable to all those under investigation".
Real Madrid demand 'justice' over Negreira case
At the end of last year, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez used his Christmas address to launch an attack on Spanish football authorities regarding the Negreira scandal.
Perez described it as the 'biggest scandal in football history' and criticised La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for leaving his club 'isolated' in their pursuit of justice.
"It is completely incomprehensible that the institutions have left Madrid alone in this fight," he said.
"How is it possible that the president of the referees asks us to forget it? How are we going to forget the biggest scandal in the history of football? How can the RFEF and La Liga behave like this? They have a duty to ensure integrity."
"The 'Negreira case' is the most serious case in football today," Perez added. "We know that more than 8 million euros have been paid for technical reports on referees. And on top of that, they were never received by the coaches.
"Who can believe that they paid for these reports that the coaches didn't even know existed? It highlights the need for a radical change."
Topics: Real Madrid, Barcelona, La Liga
Jack Kenmare