The Negreira case has entered a new phase at European level. UEFA have confirmed receipt of the documents submitted by Real Madrid over the investigations into Barcelona, in one of the most striking developments linked to the file in recent times.
UEFA confirmed on Thursday that they had received from Real Madrid "a large quantity of documents" relating to the ongoing investigation into Barcelona in the case of José María Enríquez Negreira, the former deputy head of the technical committee of referees at the Spanish Football Federation.
In an official statement, the European body said its ethics and disciplinary inspectors had also obtained the documents to study them as part of the ongoing review of the case.
Several months ago, Real Madrid prepared an extensive report containing various documents relating to the Negreira case, which revolves around the payments that companies linked to the former Spanish refereeing official received from Barcelona.
According to the newspaper "Marca", Real Madrid have spent recent months pushing the case onto the international stage, driven by the lack of significant progress at home. The club want European sporting bodies to examine the implications of the file.
The Spanish newspaper explained that Real Madrid have restored their relations with UEFA to normal and are approaching the same with the European Club Association. Throughout those talks, the club have kept insisting that the Negreira case must be dealt with at European level.
UEFA's statement means the documents Real Madrid submitted now sit among the materials that the body's competent organs will review. The statement did not announce the opening of formal disciplinary proceedings against Barcelona.
Real Madrid's latest steps in the case date back to last June, when the club officially announced it had submitted a letter to UEFA's disciplinary bodies calling for the resumption of the disciplinary proceedings the European body had previously begun against Barcelona. Real Madrid said at the time that it had submitted evidence which it believes strengthens the indications relating to Barcelona's ongoing payments to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former deputy head of the technical committee of referees, and considered that the case represents, in its view, an extremely serious danger to the integrity of competitions.
UEFA had already opened an investigation into Barcelona in March 2023, appointing ethics and disciplinary inspectors to examine a possible breach of UEFA's regulations against the backdrop of the Negreira case.
At the heart of the case are payments that Negreira and companies linked to him received from Barcelona over many years. According to data contained in the investigation file, the payments exceeded 7.5 million euros between 2001 and 2018, in exchange for reports relating to refereeing. Barcelona deny committing any violations and insist the payments covered consulting services and technical reports on referees. The investigations also indicated that it was not proven that Negreira paid money to referees in order to influence the results of matches.