Real Madrid is preparing to push for tough disciplinary action against Barcelona in the long‑running Negreira affair.
The controversy, centred on millions of euros in payments from Barcelona to former referees committee vice‑president José María Enríquez Negreira, has already been referred to the Spanish courts, but the Madrid club believes the matter must also be judged at the European level.
With UEFA’s investigation on hold, Real Madrid are now aiming to force the European body to reopen and ultimately sanction their arch‑rivals.
Real Madrid sees the Negreira episode as a clear case of potential influence over refereeing, and is framing their push for action as a bid to protect the integrity of European competitions, as reported by journalist Ramon Alvarez de Mon.
The club president, Florentino Pérez, and his legal team are adamant that UEFA hold Barcelona accountable, even without a final court ruling, arguing that the club’s own admission of payments strengthens the basis for disciplinary proceedings.
Madrid’s legal representatives have already grilled former Barcelona president Joan Laporta in court and sought financial documents from 2010 to 2018, trying to build a paper trail that could be used before UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
UEFA, for now, has paused its own disciplinary process, but it still retains the power to punish Barcelona with measures ranging from squad‑registration limits to bans from European tournaments for between one and ten years, depending on the severity found.
Real Madrid is counting on those powers to be exercised, convinced that the Negreira scandal will eventually trigger formal sanctions.
For Barcelona, that threat looms over their financial planning and sporting ambitions, while Real Madrid appears determined to use the case as a long‑term lever in the broader institutional battle surrounding Spanish football governance and competitions.
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