Barcelona have denied that UEFA has reopened or reactivated proceedings in the Negreira case, saying the investigation has continued since 2023 and has never been formally closed.
The club issued the statement after reports suggested UEFA had restarted its procedures following a complaint submitted by Real Madrid. Barcelona said UEFA’s latest announcement did not indicate that new proceedings had been opened, reopened or reactivated.
Instead, the club said, UEFA had only confirmed receipt of documents provided by Real Madrid, which will now be assessed by investigators as part of the existing investigation.
Barcelona reject claims of a reopened case
Barcelona said UEFA’s procedure began in 2023, when two investigators were appointed and given responsibility for taking whatever steps they considered appropriate. The club added that it had complied with all requests made by the investigators since then.
It also pointed to the wording used in UEFA’s own statement, which referred to an “ongoing investigation” and a “continued review”. Barcelona said this demonstrated that the case had not been closed and therefore could not have been reopened or reactivated.
The club stressed that UEFA had not made any assessment of the content or value of the documents submitted by Real Madrid. According to Barcelona, the European governing body had only confirmed their receipt and said they would be reviewed by its ethics and disciplinary inspectors.
Barcelona added that responsibility for deciding the next step rests with UEFA’s investigators. It said they had not made any new requests to the club and had not yet referred Real Madrid’s complaint to Barcelona.
“If we receive any new requests, or if Real Madrid’s complaint is referred to us, we will respond in accordance with the established procedures, as we have done since the beginning of the case,” the club said.
Real Madrid complaint
Real Madrid previously said its complaint to UEFA included a large volume of documents and evidence concerning payments received by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the referees’ technical committee of the Spanish Football Federation.
Real Madrid considers the facts under investigation to affect the integrity of competition and confidence in the refereeing system.
Barcelona also said the European proceedings remain subject, under the applicable regulations, to the outcome of the criminal case currently being heard in Spain. The club insisted that position remains unchanged.
As part of its response, Barcelona highlighted the fact that it has been granted a UEFA licence to compete in European competitions since the investigation began, without objection. It said it had continued to participate normally in UEFA competitions.
The club ended its statement by reaffirming its full co-operation with the relevant authorities and calling on the media to show “rigour and accuracy” when reporting information connected with the case, amid the debate caused by UEFA’s latest announcement and Real Madrid’s use of the documents submitted to the governing body.
