The Madrid leader pointed out the injustice perceived during the “ best sporting period » of Barça, coinciding with alleged payments of more than 8 million euros to referees over a period of 17 years. Pérez also spoke about the glaring imbalance in the number of red cards handed out to the two clubs during this period, stating that the situation is “ abnormal “.
Pérez relaunches the controversy surrounding the Negreira scandal at FC Barcelona
During the last Assembly of Representative Members, Pérez took advantage of his speech to attack several major bodies, including UEFA, La Liga and, above all, FC Barcelona.
As reported by Marca, the president of Real Madrid took this opportunity to rekindle the controversy concerning the scandal of Barça referees, accused of having paid around 8.4 million euros to La Liga referees over a period of 17 years, between 2001 and 2018.
The “Negreira affair”, as it is often called, began following accusations in 2023. José María Enríquez Negreira was then vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). Negreira received large payments from FC Barcelona, the club claiming that these were consultancy services, with Negreira providing reports and opinions on arbitration. Both the club and Negreira have denied involvement in corruption, but an investigation into sporting integrity remains ongoing.
Pérez reignited the controversy by declaring that the situation is “
abnormal » and coincides with sporting successes, a practice that the president of Real Madrid questioned in his speech.
Pérez attacks FC Barcelona and the refereeing scandal in a fiery speech.
“It is not normal that FC Barcelona paid more than 8 million euros to the vice-president of referees for at least 17 years, whatever the reason,” denounced Pérez in front of the club members. “I repeat: whatever the reason, this is not normal. »
He went on to claim that Enríquez Negreira occupied “
a key position in the arbitration hierarchy”responsible for promotions and demotions of referees. “
A period which coincides, by a strange coincidence, with the best sporting results of FC Barcelona in our country
“, added Pérez.
Pérez supported his remarks with graphs and data. “
Real Madrid had a net balance of two red cards in 2021 »he explained. “ And FC Barcelona, 61 red cards. That’s a difference of no less than 59. Furthermore, during the same period, the balance in Europe is almost identical: +12 for Barça and +13 for Real Madrid.
“Bayern and Dortmund have the same balance, just like the major championships. The balance of red cards during the Negreira era was +49 at FC Barcelona and -1 at Real Madrid. It’s up to you to draw your own conclusions. »
