December 17 – Spain’s Negreira case has all the ingredients for a potential earth-shattering scandal. Allegations of illegal payments by Barcelona and influencing of referees have raised questions without answers, and for Real Madrid, patience in finding those answers ran out some time ago.
Under fire Real manager, Xabi Alonso made that clear this week, backing Florentino Pérez’s increasingly hard-line stance and echoing the club’s belief that the issue is far deeper than rivalry or political point-scoring.
“We share the position of the club and the president,” Alonso said. “The most important thing is that for the good of football, we need to find out the truth of what happened.”
At the centre of it all is the long-running investigation into more than €7 million in payments made by Barcelona to companies linked to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spain’s referees’ committee, between 2001 and 2018. Barcelona president Joan Laporta, along with former coaches Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde, appeared as witnesses on Friday before the judge overseeing the case.
Laporta has maintained that the payments were for referee scouting reports. Obviously, very expensive scouting reports. Not surprisingly, Madrid publicly isn’t buying it.
Speaking at the club’s Christmas reception on Monday, Pérez called the Negreira affair “the biggest scandal in the history of football,” accusing Spanish football’s governing bodies of leaving Real Madrid “alone” and arguing the case exposed the need for “radical change.” He went further, suggesting “it’s possible that clubs were relegated” as a consequence.
That is the bottom line that Madrid keeps returning to. Not just whether referees were influenced, but whether competitive balance in Spain was tilted in favour of Catalunya for years.
“We’re all human and make mistakes,” Alonso added. “But here, there was a case that needs to be investigated. Abroad, what happened here really surprises people, that there’ve been no consequences, or responsibility [taken]. That’s why it’s very important to find out what happened. It isn’t normal, and it can’t be taken as normal.”
The criminal investigation has now dragged on for two and a half years, with judge Alejandra Gil set to decide whether it proceeds to a full trial.
Not everyone is comfortable with Madrid’s tone. Spain’s newly formed referees’ union, AESAF, pushed back on Tuesday, stressing that “no referee has been investigated or charged” in the case and criticising Pérez’s comments.
Alonso, predictably, was unmoved. “It’s legitimate that everyone defends their own interests,” he said.
For Madrid, the position is simple. Spanish football has a credibility problem, and until the Negreira case is resolved properly, every title, decision, and whistle will continue to carry an asterisk in the court of public opinion, especially in the Spanish capital, as Barca had periods of supreme dominance over their rivals in this period.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1765952530labto1765952530ofdlr1765952530owedi1765952530sni@r1765952530etsbe1765952530w.kci1765952530n1765952530