UEFA receives Real Madrid documents in latest development of Negreira case

UEFA has confirmed it has received a substantial set of documents from Real Madrid relating to its investigation into Barcelona over the Negreira case.

The European governing body said on Thursday that Real Madrid had submitted “a large quantity of documents” connected to the case involving Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees within the Spanish Football Federation.

UEFA added that its ethics and disciplinary inspectors had also obtained the material and would assess it as part of their ongoing review.

Real Madrid has spent several months compiling an extensive report containing documents linked to payments made by Barcelona to companies associated with Negreira. The case centres on payments made to the former refereeing official over a number of years.

According to Marca, Real Madrid has sought to move the matter to the international level after limited progress in Spain, hoping European sporting authorities will examine the wider implications of the case.

The Spanish newspaper also reported that Real Madrid’s relationship with UEFA had returned to normal and that the club was close to reaching a similar position with the European Club Association. During discussions, Real Madrid has continued to argue that the Negreira case should be addressed at European level.

UEFA’s statement confirms that the documents submitted by Real Madrid are now part of the material being reviewed by the governing body’s relevant departments. It did not, however, announce the opening of a formal disciplinary procedure against Barcelona.

Real Madrid’s latest reported action came in June, when the club said it had sent a letter to UEFA’s disciplinary bodies calling for the resumption of disciplinary proceedings previously initiated against Barcelona.

At the time, Real Madrid said it had presented evidence that it believed strengthened indications of continuing payments by Barcelona to Negreira, who was formerly vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees. The club said it considered the case to pose an extremely serious threat to the integrity of competitions.

UEFA opened its own investigation into Barcelona in March 2023, appointing ethics and disciplinary inspectors to examine whether the club may have breached UEFA regulations in connection with the Negreira case.

The investigation concerns payments received by Negreira and companies linked to him from Barcelona over many years. Documents in the case indicate that the total exceeded 7.5 million euros between 2001 and 2018, in return for reports related to refereeing.

Barcelona denies any wrongdoing and maintains that the payments were for consultancy work and technical reports on referees. Investigators have also found no evidence that Negreira paid referees to influence match results.