LaLiga: Real Madrid Accuses Barcelona of Bribing Referees, Sides with UEFA

On Wednesday, Real Madrid announced that it possesses evidence indicating that its LaLiga rivals Barcelona bribed referees, a claim that has become part of the so‑called “Negreira case.”

The Negreira case is a current legal inquiry into payments that total more than €7.3 million, allegedly made by Barcelona to companies owned by José María Enríquez Negreira, who served as vice‑president of Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) from 2001 to 2018.

Barcelona maintains that the payments were for legitimate technical and referee‑consulting services, while prosecutors are examining allegations of corruption and improper administration.

Real Madrid has now sent a formal letter to UEFA outlining its allegations.

Full Letter:

In the letter, the club informs UEFA that it has evidence that conclusively supports the long‑standing suspicion of ongoing, opaque payments made by FC Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira through various corporate structures. The club states that these payments lack any verifiable justification.

Real Madrid argues that, under sports disciplinary law, these facts represent a systemic risk of the highest gravity to the integrity of competitions. The club claims the payments create a structure of undue influence over the arbitration system, which is incompatible with the core principles of competitive equality, neutrality, impartiality, and the unpredictability of sporting results.

In this context, Real Madrid urges the immediate resumption of the disciplinary file that UEFA opened at the time. The club says the delay in addressing the matter undermines the credibility of football, its institutions, and its leaders, and demands a firm, exemplary, and prompt response in the sporting arena, independent of the outcome of ongoing judicial proceedings.

Real Madrid requests that UEFA, exercising its autonomous and independent competence, adopt appropriate disciplinary and restorative measures to safeguard the integrity, transparency, and proper functioning of competitions. The club stresses that such measures should not replace the role of state jurisdictional bodies or anticipate a criminal qualification of the facts.

Accordingly, Real Madrid, as a private accuser in the ongoing criminal proceedings, will continue to pursue the actions it deems appropriate at each procedural stage.

Real Madrid reaffirms its commitment to defending the fundamental values of sport and will keep pursuing all necessary measures to ensure that incidents of this nature are not left unpunished.