Real Madrid have sent UEFA a "substantial" dossier containing evidence of "extraordinary gravity" regarding payments made by Barcelona to former Spain referees' committee vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. The documents, reportedly over 50,000 pages, relate to 8.4m euros (£7.2m) paid between 2001 and 2018 and detail allegations affecting "the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system". UEFA confirmed its ethics and disciplinary inspectors will assess the material as part of their ongoing review.
Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing, stating the money was for scouting and technical reports provided by Negreira and his Dasnil 95 company. They confirmed UEFA "not opened any new proceedings" against them and that existing investigations from 2023 remain active.
In June 2023, UEFA investigators decided Barcelona would face no punishment, and the club has continued in European competition. A Barcelona court investigation remains ongoing. La Liga president Javier Tebas stated in March 2023 that UEFA "could not take any action" as the case was time-barred in sports law, though not in criminal law.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing