According to journalist Ramon Alvarez, Real Madrid firmly believe that severe sanctions will be handed out to Barcelona by UEFA very soon regarding the Negreira case. Although UEFA initially suspended its disciplinary proceedings, Madrid's top brass are confident that the pause is merely temporary. They expect the investigation to resume shortly, which could result in a monumental punishment for their arch-rivals on the European stage.
Alvarez highlights that a formal court ruling is not actually needed for the Catalans to be sanctioned, noting that their acknowledgement of the payments in itself will be very significant. Under UEFA statutes, simply the intent to influence a match result can trigger a ban. While Barcelona do not dispute that the payments occurred, they firmly maintain the funds were strictly for legitimate technical reports on referees.