Real Madrid have urged UEFA to conclude its ongoing investigation into the Negreira case with “utmost urgency” after European football’s governing body confirmed receiving a dossier from them on Thursday.
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body → urge → Thursday
The case pertains to Barcelona football club allegedly paying millions of dollars to the company of Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee, between 2001 and 2018, to try to influence referee decisions.
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club → pertain → decisions
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Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest and said they paid him for reports and advice related to refereeing.
Thursday’s statement by UEFA was the latest update in its investigation into the payments opened in 2023, while there is an ongoing Spanish criminal case as well.
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statement → disrupt → 2023
Here’s everything you need to know about the case:
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you → ’ → case
Barcelona allegedly paid more than 7.3 million euros ($7.95m) between 2001 and 2018 to firms owned by Negreira, who was vice president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish football association from 1993-2018.
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who → pay → 1993
In March 2023, Spanish prosecutors formally charged Barcelona as well as two of the club’s former presidents, Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and Negreira and his son, Javier Enriquez Negreira, with corruption over the affair.
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prosecutors → charge → affair
Barcelona was accused of corruption in sports, fraudulent management and the falsification of mercantile documentation; it denies any wrongdoing and says the payments were made for technical refereeing reports.
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payments → accuse → reports
In June 2023, UEFA’s investigators decided that Barcelona would not face any punishment, and the club has continued to play in European competition since then.
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club → decide → competition
Real Madrid have primarily accused Barcelona of sports corruption and influencing refereeing decisions through payments to Negreira.
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Madrid → accuse → Negreira
The club joined the complaint filed by Spanish prosecutors against Barcelona and expressed their “deep concern about the seriousness of the facts”.
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club → join → facts
According to reports in Spanish media, Real Madrid have requested that Barcelona be stripped of the nine titles they won between 2001 and 2018, the years in which the Catalan club paid Negreira.
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club → accord → Negreira
What have UEFA, Real Madrid, and Barcelona said?
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UEFA → say → What
All three entities issued separate statements on Thursday night.
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entities → issue → night
The governing body confirmed receiving a “substantial amount of documents” — reportedly worth 50,000 pages — from Real Madrid pertaining to the investigation.
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body → confirm → investigation
“The UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have also received these latest documents which they will assess as part of their ongoing review,” it said in a statement.
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it → receive → statement
The club issued its statement following UEFA’s announcement and confirmed that it had provided “extensive documentation and evidence regarding events of extraordinary seriousness, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system.”
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which → issue → system
It urged that UEFA’s investigation proceed with “utmost urgency until its full conclusion” now that the dossier has been handed over.
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dossier → urge → conclusion
Accused party Barcelona issued a statement clarifying that the latest development pertains to the same ongoing investigation, and that “proceedings have not been reopened because they have never been closed.”
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they → accuse → investigation
“As of today, they have not made any new requests to FC Barcelona nor have they forwarded Real Madrid’s complaint to the Club.
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they → make → Club
Should they do so, the Club will respond accordingly, as it has done up to now.”
What else is going on between Real Madrid and Barcelona?
Some reports in Spain claim that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and FC Barcelona have been summoned to appear before a Madrid court on November 25 for a conciliation hearing ahead of possible criminal proceedings for defamation against Perez.
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Perez → do → Perez
The hearing follows legal action launched by Barcelona on June 12 over comments made by Perez in May in the Negreira case.
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hearing → follow → case
Barcelona said the action was intended to force Perez to retract statements it described as knowingly false, defamatory and damaging to the club’s image and reputation.
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it → say → image
The club warned that if the conciliation process failed, it would file a criminal complaint.
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it → warn → complaint
The dispute centres on comments Perez made at a May 12 news conference concerning the so-called Negreira case.
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Perez → centre → case
Perez described the affair as “the most serious case of corruption in football”, adding: “We could never have imagined Barcelona giving money to the head of the referees.”
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Barcelona → describe → referees
He also claimed Real Madrid had been denied league titles, saying: “I’ve won seven leagues.
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I → claim → leagues
I could have won twice as many.
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I → win → many
The others were stolen from me.”
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others → steal → me
What have the Spanish football federation and La Liga said?
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federation → say → What
Neither entity has issued any statement since UEFA acknowledged receiving Real Madrid’s dossier on Thursday.
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UEFA → issue → Thursday
Will the case have an impact on El Clasico?
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case → have → Clasico
The Spanish football giants will meet in the first leg of El Clasico on October 25 in La Liga.
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giants → meet → Liga
The case will have no bearing on the scheduling of the match but could provide an added touch of drama to what is known as one of the most bitter football rivalries in club football.
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what → have → football
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