November 25 – Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez has reopened hostilities with Barcelona, using his club’s Assembly of Representative Members to revive the long-running Negreira scandal and question what he called “not normal” patterns of refereeing decisions during the club’s most successful modern era.
Pérez, who has rarely shied away from confrontation with Spanish football’s establishment, used his platform to lay out a detailed – and at times incendiary – critique of LaLiga, the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) refereeing structure, and Barcelona’s ongoing legal battle.
“It’s not normal that Barcelona has paid the vice president of referees more than €8m for at least 17 years, whatever the reason,” Pérez told members. “I repeat, whatever the reason, it’s not normal.”
The reference was a not-so subtle nod to the ongoing Negreira case.
A bit of background: in 2023, prosecutors opened an investigation into payments of roughly €8.4m allegedly made by Barça to José María Enríquez Negreira, former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), between 2001 and 2018. Barcelona insist the money was for consultancy and refereeing reports – both the club and Negreira deny bribery. That said, a sporting-integrity case remains active.
For Pérez, the timeline speaks for itself. He pointed out that Negreira held “a key position in the refereeing hierarchy,” including influence over promotions and demotions of match officials. “A period that coincides, coincidentally, with Barcelona’s best sporting results in our country.”
Peréz then presented members with comparative red-card data – a favourite data point of his in recent interventions about the refereeing climate in Spain.
“Real Madrid had a net balance of two red cards in 2021. And Barcelona, 61 red cards. That’s a difference of no less than 59,” he said. “On the other hand, during the same period, the balance in Europe is almost identical: +12 for Barca and +13 for Madrid. Bayern and Dortmund have the same balance, and so do the major leagues.
“The red card balance during the Negreira period at Barcelona was +49 and at Real Madrid, -1. Draw your own conclusions.”
Pérez also reminded members that, among Spain’s major clubs, “Real Madrid are the only club that has appeared in the trial. Four presidents have maintained millionaire payments for 17 years to the vice president of referees.”
He reserved further criticism for the current leadership of the refereeing committee. “Fran Soto has asked us to move on and forget the ‘Negreira case.’ Who is going to forget it?” Pérez said. “The reality is that they [the referees involved] are still there. It’s a situation that prevents them from acting with neutrality.”
He referenced a Copa del Rey final in which, he alleged, a referee stated beforehand that officials would “take action against our club.” Pérez added: “He should have been removed, and no measures were taken.”
The Madrid chief then widened his attack to LaLiga’s handling of the proposed Miami match, a long-running source of friction between Javier Tebas and several clubs.
“Not even their captain, Frenkie de Jong, thinks it’s normal,” Pérez said of Barcelona’s involvement in the US fixture plan. “And it’s also not normal that LaLiga supports two teams, Barcelona and Villarreal, who receive additional financial incentives for playing in Miami. And yet we have to listen to Mr Tebas trying to compare this with the NFL.”
The timing of Pérez’s intervention is worth noting down. The Negreira case has rolled on for more than a year without a definitive conclusion, but political pressure around the refereeing system – intensified by the Rubiales fallout and broader governance fractures – has left Spanish football’s institutions exposed. Pérez, sensing a vacuum, appears willing to shape the narrative.
Barcelona have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and dismissed Madrid’s stance as opportunistic. But with the case still in motion and the domestic game increasingly fractious, Pérez’s latest volley ensures the scandal remains far from buried.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1764070692labto1764070692ofdlr1764070692owedi1764070692sni@g1764070692niwe.1764070692yrrah1764070692