“Real Madrid have agreed that in order to protect their legitimate rights, the club will join the trial if the judge opens it for the parties concerned,” Real Madrid said on Sunday. The government is also interested in the case. José Manuel Franco, President of the Supreme Sports Authority, announced that he would take part in the process.
Real Madrid had previously refused to publicly demand clarification of the process with the other clubs in the two top Spanish leagues. So the step is a change of direction.
Allegation: Barcelona are said to have paid more than 7.3 million to referee officials
FC Barcelona is accused of having transferred more than 7.3 million euros to companies associated with José María Enríquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018. From 1993 to 2018 Enríquez Negreira was Vice-President of the Referees Committee of the Spanish Federation RFEF. When Enríquez Negreira left the board in 2018, the club stopped making payments.
The suspicion in the room: did Barcelona buy the goodwill of referees? The club’s current president, Joan Laporta, called his club ‘innocent’. FC Barcelona is the victim of a campaign. The club said the payments were only made for “advisory work”. Enríquez Negreira said Barcelona were not favored in any decision. Real Madrid fans handed out €500 bills with Laporta’s portrait at the game against Barcelona in early March.
Real and Barca – together on the legal process for the Super League
Currently, the two biggest Spanish clubs are fighting another legal battle together. In addition to Juventus Turin, the two clubs continue to try to enforce the Super League. Before a commercial court in Madrid, UEFA was prohibited from sanctioning the clubs, and the case is now before the European Court of Justice for a fundamental decision. A verdict is expected in the first half of 2023.