Real Madrid has asked for Barcelona to lose nine of their titles.
Real Madrid has asked for Barcelona to lose the nine La Liga titles they won between 2001 and 2018, according to reports, after it was suggested that UEFA has reopened the Negreira case.
For those who don’t know, Barcelona is accused of paying €8.4 million (£7.3m) to companies owned by Jose María Enríquez Negreira, a former vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee, between 2001 and 2018. Barcelona has always denied any wrongdoing, saying the money was for technical reports on referees and never to influence match decisions.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has called the case a “giant campaign to damage Barcelona’s reputation” based on “defamatory hints.” On the other hand, Real Madrid has pushed for more investigation and possible penalties.
Last year, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez criticized Spanish football authorities over the Negreira case, calling it the “biggest scandal in football history.” He also said La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation left Real Madrid “alone” in seeking justice.
It looks like Real Madrid is still pushing for action. A report from AS says Madrid has asked that Barcelona be stripped of titles won during the years the payments allegedly happened. The report also shared a UEFA statement confirming they received “a substantial amount of documents” related to the ongoing investigation into Barcelona and Negreira. UEFA added that their Ethics and Disciplinary inspectors are reviewing these documents as part of the case.
On Thursday, Real Madrid released a strong statement confirming UEFA got their complaint. The club said it included “detailed evidence of very serious events that affect the competition’s integrity and trust in the refereeing system.” They asked for the investigation to move “as quickly as possible” and for the right decisions to be made based on the facts. Real Madrid also said they will keep working with UEFA and use all their resources to protect fairness, honesty, and transparency in European football.
Shortly after, Barcelona responded to the news about UEFA reopening the case. Their statement said: “UEFA has not opened new proceedings against Barcelona. The investigation began in 2023 and two investigators have done their work. The club has always cooperated fully. The case has never been closed, so it hasn’t been reopened.”
They added that UEFA’s statement only confirms receipt of Real Madrid’s documents and says the investigators will review them as part of the ongoing case. It doesn’t say any new investigation has started or judge the documents themselves.
Barcelona’s statement also said that the investigators will decide what to do next and haven’t asked Barcelona for more information or shared Real Madrid’s complaint with them yet. If they do, Barcelona will respond as before.
The club noted that the case depends on a criminal trial currently happening in Spain, and it will continue to be so. Since the investigation started, Barcelona has kept its UEFA license and kept playing in UEFA competitions.
To be clear, Barcelona shared UEFA’s full statement saying they received many documents from Real Madrid related to the ongoing investigation involving former refereeing committee VP José María Enríquez Negreira. UEFA inspectors will look at these documents as part of their review.
Finally, Barcelona said they are fully cooperating with the authorities and asked for careful and accurate reporting on this matter.