What is the Negreira case? Real Madrid send ‘50,000-page’ dossier to Uefa over alleged Barcelona corruption

Barcelona are embroiled in an active sports corruption investigation known as the ‘Negreira case’, which is beginning to escalate following the fierce backing of prosecutors by Real Madrid . The case centres on payments of €7.3m (£6.5m) from Barcelona to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Spanish football federation’s technical committee of referees (CTA), between 2001 and 2018. Barcelona say the payments were for scouting and technical reports provided by Negreira on officials, but it has been alleged previously that the money was being used to bribe referees. These allegations were dismissed by a Spanish court in May 2024 because Negreira could not legally be treated as a public official for the purposes of that offence, but the investigation continues under the charge of sports corruption. European governing body Uefa has also been investigating the allegations since 2023, and on 1 October they received a “substantial” amount of new documents from Real Madrid, Barcelona’s fierce rivals. Florentino Perez said in May that he was gathering evidence for the case to submit to Uefa (Getty Images) Real say the new dossier, which is reportedly 50,000 pages long, details “evidence of extraordinary gravity, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system”. A statement from Los Blancos read: “Real Madrid CF considers it essential that, once Uefa has this documentation, the investigation progresses as quickly as possible until its complete conclusion and that the competent bodies adopt the corresponding decisions in accordance with the seriousness of the proven facts. “Our club will continue to actively collaborate with Uefa and take all the actions within its power to clarify facts that it considers incompatible with the principles of integrity, transparency and fair play that should govern European football.” It comes five months after Real president Florentino Perez said he was gathering evidence for the case to submit to Uefa, claiming in May that Barcelona “have stolen seven league [titles] from me.” A statement from Uefa read: “Uefa can confirm that it has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial amount of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the matter involving Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the technical committee of referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (the so-called “Negreira matter”). “The Uefa ethics and disciplinary inspectors have also received these latest documents which they will assess as part of their ongoing review.” Barcelona responded by asserting that they have continued to comply with any of Uefa’s requests during the investigation and that no fresh proceedings have been opened as a result of Real’s dossier. Barcelona said in a statement: “Uefa has not opened any new disciplinary proceedings against FC Barcelona. The proceedings began in 2023 with the appointment of two investigators, who have since carried out the actions they deemed necessary. Barcelona are embroiled in a corruption scandal surrounding payments to referees (Getty Images) “The club has always complied with all their requests. These proceedings have not been reopened because they were never closed. “The Uefa statement…does not announce the opening, reopening, or reactivation of any case, nor does it contain any pronouncement on the substance or value of the submitted documentation. “It is up to the investigators to determine what actions they deem appropriate regarding this documentation. As of today, they have not made any new requests to FC Barcelona nor have they forwarded Real Madrid’s complaint to the club. When they do, the club will respond appropriately, as it has done thus far. “In accordance with the applicable legislation, this file is subject to the outcome of the criminal proceedings taking place in Spain and will remain therein. “Since the start of the investigation, FC Barcelona has continued to obtain Uefa licenses without objection and has participated in its competitions.”