Real Madrid pursue maximum sanctions for Barca in Negreira case

After years of investigation, last week saw several key figures finally give evidence in the Negreira case, in which Barcelona stand accused of sporting corruption and fraud, alongside former Vice-President of the Referees Committee (CTA) Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. One of the claimants is Real Madrid, among a number of other La Liga clubs.

The scandal surrounds €7.5m in payments between 2001 and 2018 made from Barcelona to Negreira. The Catalan giants have denied any wrongdoing, saying that the payments were for consultancy work, more specifically reports on referee tendencies and performances.

Real Madrid to pursue maximum punishment for Barcelona

The word from Real Madrid is that they will pursue consequences as far as they can when it comes to the Negreira case, say Marca. Los Blancos, who believe there still exists a wider culture of bias against them, believes that it is necessary for both Real Madrid and Spanish football that the case ends with sanctions for Barcelona.

They are following the case carefully, and will do so by waiting for the sentence dictated to Barcelona. Once the court proceedings have been resolved, Real Madrid intend to inform FIFA of all of the goings on. As such, Real Madrid TV have been publishing a number of video reports on what they deem to be unfair treatment over the years, focusing in on the number of cards given to Barcelona, their opponents, Real Madrid, and their opponents – although this follows an editorial line in place for years.

Real Madrid blame previous Barcelona presidents

Interestingly, despite the payments to Negreira beginning under Joan Gaspart, continuing under Joan Laporta, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, it is only the latter two, and former executive Alvaro Soler that Los Blancos are primarily pointing the finger at. Soler later became an executive at the Ministry for Sport, and changed the statute of limitations regarding the case to just five years back in 2021, two years before the case became public knowledge, something that Real Madrid are seeking explanations for.

Last week while giving evidence, Rosell noted that numerous presidents of the CTA were self-proclaimed Real Madrid fans, and at the Bernabeu, they are keen to see him punished.

Florentino Perez and Joan Laporta

It certainly places the relationship between the two clubs in an intriguing spot. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez did not mention the Negreira case at the Real Madrid General Assembly last year, and instead noted that Real Madrid and Barcelona must work together to help each other. Their interests in recent years have been united ever since the proposal of a Superleague, while Perez helped finance Barcelona counterpart Laporta’s return to power. Laporta is part of the Negreira case as a witness rather than a suspect.