Real Madrid provided UEFA with extensive documentation regarding payments made by FC Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018.
UEFA confirmed on 1 October 2026 that ethics and disciplinary inspectors will assess the materials under Article 31(4) as part of an active probe.
The sums paid to the former referee committee vice president range between €7.3 million and €8.4 million across a 17-year span.
FC Barcelona stated that UEFA has not launched a new case, explaining that the investigation initiated in 2023 has remained active.
UEFA confirmed on 1 October 2026 that it received extensive documentation from Real Madrid regarding payments made by FC Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira. Negreira previously served as vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees for the Royal Spanish Football Federation. European football's governing body confirmed that its ethics and disciplinary inspectors received the materials and will evaluate them under Article 31(4) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. Reporting by Spanish newspaper As, led by director José Félix Díaz, and Mundo Deportivo indicated that Real Madrid transmitted approximately 50,000 pages of records, witness statements, and evidence to European football authorities.
The inquiry focuses on financial transactions conducted between 2001 and 2018. During this 17-year period, FC Barcelona transferred between €7.3 million and €8.4 million (approximately £7.2 million or $9.4 million) to businesses owned by Negreira. The payments first became public in February 2023, prompting investigations by Spanish judicial bodies and UEFA. While Spanish domestic sports regulations prevent retroactive sporting sanctions due to a statute of limitations, UEFA disciplinary rules contain no time bar for evaluating potential breaches of competition integrity.
Real Madrid filed the documentation following a pledge made by club president Florentino Pérez during his re-election campaign in May. The Madrid board requested that UEFA expedite the disciplinary review and apply measures commensurate with the evidence.
“The complaint filed by our club includes extensive documentation and evidence regarding events of extraordinary seriousness, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system.”
FC Barcelona responded with a public statement clarifying that UEFA has not initiated new disciplinary proceedings against the club. The Catalan club noted that the current inquiry opened in 2023 with the appointment of two independent inspectors and has remained active ever since. In April 2023, Barcelona president Joan Laporta stated that the club paid an external consultant for technical refereeing reports and had not sought any sporting advantage.
“Proceedings were initiated in 2023, with the appointment of two investigators who have since carried out the action they deemed appropriate. The club has always complied with all their requests. These proceedings have not been reopened because they have never been closed.”
A Barcelona court continues to pursue a criminal inquiry into the payments. In March 2023, La Liga president Javier Tebas explained that domestic league authorities could not penalize Barcelona because the actions were time-barred under national sports law. In June 2023, UEFA inspectors decided against imposing an immediate suspension from continental tournaments, enabling Barcelona to retain its license for European competitions. UEFA president Aleksandr Čeferin previously described the Negreira case as one of the most serious situations in football history while assigning the matter to disciplinary bodies. Barcelona confirmed that UEFA inspectors have not forwarded Real Madrid's newly submitted complaint to the club for a response.
Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.
Support PollarFootball · Nyon, Madrid, and Barcelona
European football governing body UEFA has received extensive documentation from Real Madrid regarding payments made by FC Barcelona to a former Spanish referee official.
AI text based on reports by Blick.ch, Ouest France, The New York Times and other publishers. Changed .