Real Madrid submit new report to UEFA over Barcelona payments controversy

Among the several battlefronts that the recently reelected President of Real Madrid, Flortentino Perez, has currently open, the one against Barcelona is of particular concern for the fans, which is understandable keeping in view the historic rivalry between the two clubs.

In this regard, one weapon that the Merengue top official has most frequently used is that of the Negreira case, in which the Blaugrana club is accused of making payments to the former head of the CTA to obtain undue favors from him.

Although this matter is yet to be decided, there is no doubt that most of the La Liga clubs, past and present, would have been affected if the allegations against the Catalan side are true. However, Real Madrid is, by far, the club has most actively taken up this case. In fact, it seems that the Merengues have no intentions of letting their rival club off the hook.

This is clear from a recent report from MARCA, which reveals that the white club has sent another report to UEFA, in which they have asked for disciplinary measures against Barcelona for these payments. Los Vikingos also published an official statement after sending this report, which went as follows:

“In this statement, the club has informed UEFA of the existence of significant evidence that conclusively reinforces the indications already known since the beginning regarding the existence of prolonged, opaque payments lacking any verifiable justification, made by F. C. Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, through various corporate structures.”

Real Madrid reminded the top European football body of what impact these actions from Barcelona could have on the spirit of the sport:

“Real Madrid emphasizes that these facts constitute, from the perspective of sports disciplinary law, a systemic risk of utmost severity for the integrity of competitions, as they reveal the existence of a structure of undue influence over the refereeing body, incompatible with the essential principles of competitive equality, neutrality, impartiality, and unpredictability of sports outcomes.”

The Merengues want UEFA to work separately from the ongoing judicial proceedings in this case:

“In this context, Real Madrid has urged the immediate resumption of the disciplinary proceedings previously initiated by UEFA, considering it unacceptable that this situation has persisted over time, as its continuation seriously compromises the credibility of football, its institutions, and its leaders. Therefore, the club demands a firm, exemplary, and immediate response in the sporting domain, independently of the ongoing judicial proceedings.

For this reason, our club requests UEFA, in the exercise of its independent and autonomous competence, to adopt the appropriate disciplinary and restorative measures to ensure the integrity, transparency, and proper functioning of competitions. This must not, under any circumstances, replace the role of State judicial bodies or preempt a criminal qualification of the facts. In this regard, Real Madrid, acting as a private prosecutor in the ongoing criminal proceedings, will continue to take the necessary legal actions at each procedural stage, as it has done since the beginning.”

The white club also assured that it has taken this step with the welfare of the sport in general:

“Real Madrid reaffirms its commitment to defending the essential values of sport and will continue to promote all necessary actions to ensure that incidents of this nature do not go unpunished.”

Real Madrid had sent another dossier to UEFA recently, which was, however, rejected by the European body, as they pointed to the judicial proceedings underway in Spain. Now, the Merengues have particularly asked UEFA to undertake measures irrespective of these proceedings, and it remains to be seen how this new action would impact the two clubs and football in Spain in general.