UEFA has confirmed it received a substantial collection of documents from Real Madrid relating to the investigation into Barcelona and the Negreira case, in a significant development at European level.
In a statement on Thursday, European football’s governing body said it had been sent a “large amount of documentation” concerning the ongoing investigation into Barcelona’s dealings with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees at the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
UEFA added that the material had also been passed to its ethics and disciplinary inspectors, who will examine it as part of the current review of the case.
Real Madrid has spent several months compiling an extensive report containing documents connected to the allegations. The case centres on payments made by Barcelona to companies linked to Negreira during his time as a senior Spanish refereeing official.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Real Madrid has sought to take the matter to the international level after making limited progress domestically. The club wants European sporting authorities to assess the potential consequences of the allegations.
Marca also reported that Real Madrid had restored its relationship with UEFA and was close to doing the same with the European Club Association. During discussions, the club continued to stress that the Negreira case should be addressed at European level.
UEFA’s statement confirms that Real Madrid’s documents are now among the material being reviewed by the governing body’s relevant departments. However, it did not announce that formal disciplinary proceedings had been opened against Barcelona.
Real Madrid’s most recent move in the case came in June, when it confirmed that it had written to UEFA’s disciplinary bodies. The club asked for disciplinary proceedings previously initiated by UEFA against Barcelona to be resumed.
At the time, Real Madrid said it had submitted evidence that, in its view, strengthened indications of Barcelona’s continuing payments to Negreira, who was formerly vice-president of the referees’ technical committee. The club described the case as posing, in its words, an “extremely serious risk” to the integrity of competitions.
UEFA first opened an investigation into Barcelona in March 2023, appointing ethics and disciplinary inspectors to examine whether the club may have breached UEFA regulations in connection with the Negreira case.
The investigation relates to payments received by Negreira and companies associated with him from Barcelona over many years. Documents in the case indicate that the total exceeded 7.5m euros between 2001 and 2018, in return for reports linked to refereeing.
Barcelona denies any wrongdoing and says the payments were for consultancy work and technical reports about referees. Investigators have also found no evidence that Negreira paid referees to influence the outcome of matches.
