Javier Tebas has launched a fresh attack on Real Madrid over their stance on the Negreira case. The Spanish league president argues that Los Blancos are dragging the matter out and using it to escalate their attacks on Barcelona, with tension between the two sides rising in recent times.
Speaking at the "World in Progress" forum in Barcelona, in statements reported by Catalan newspaper Sport, Tebas said Real Madrid's position cannot be accepted. "What concerns me is the heart of the relationship between Barcelona and Real Madrid. What is happening today is the prolonging of the Negreira case like chewing gum, and continuing to stretch it until it ends. I believe this is something unacceptable."
He added: "We are a party in the Negreira case, and we went to the public prosecutor before Real Madrid. The president of the Merengues remained a member of the board of directors for 6 months after the case emerged, and he also spoke at one of the general assemblies about the friendship between Barcelona and Real Madrid, while the two clubs were part of the European Super League project. But it seems everything changed after Barcelona withdrew from the project."
Tebas didn't stop at the Real Madrid stance itself. He questioned the timing of the change in position, pointing out that Madrid treated the case very differently back when their relationship with Barcelona was warm under the Super League banner.
"Until that time, it seemed that what was required was to leave the judicial proceedings to run their course," Tebas said. "But since Barcelona withdrew from the Super League, it has become as if Negreira is in the dressing rooms of all the referees who officiate Real Madrid's matches."
He continued: "The ongoing attack that Barcelona is being subjected to is unacceptable. The time will come when the club bears its responsibilities, but it cannot now be claimed that the case is still ongoing in the same way."
Why is Tebas talking about La Liga's precedence in the case?
The case goes back to payments Barcelona made to companies linked to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the technical committee of referees, between 2001 and 2018. According to the published investigations, they amounted to around 7.5 million euros.
La Liga announced their move to join the case as a prosecuting party in March 2023. Real Madrid followed on 12 March that year, joining the proceedings as an injured party, and the court accepted their participation in May.
Here lies the main point of contention. Tebas believes Real Madrid were not the ones who set the file in motion. The league and the judicial authorities got there first, and he rejects any attempt to turn the case into an ongoing accusation against the current refereeing system.
None of that means Tebas is exonerating Barcelona. He has previously stressed that the payments were serious and must be investigated to the end, but he refuses to claim Negreira still influences referees' decisions today.
A case the courts have not yet settled
The judicial process continues, with the courts still determining the nature of the payments and their purpose. Barcelona maintain they were payment for technical reports and consultations on refereeing and sports scouting, and deny any aim of influencing referees' decisions or gaining a sporting advantage.
Back in October, Tebas confirmed that what happened must be subjected to a full investigation. Crucially, he separated investigating past events from claiming Negreira's influence still lingers in Spanish refereeing. That distinction explains much of his repeated attack on Real Madrid's rhetoric over the case.