Real Madrid has intensified the ongoing dispute over Barcelona's financial dealings by submitting what UEFA has described as a "substantial" dossier to European football's governing body. The Madrid club claims the documentation contains "evidence of extraordinary gravity" related to payments totaling 8.4 million euros (£7.2 million) that Barcelona transferred to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, between 2001 and 2018. The submission, reported to exceed 50,000 pages in length, marks a significant escalation in a controversy that has gripped Spanish football since its emergence in 2023.
UEFA has confirmed it will evaluate Real's extensive submission as part of its ongoing investigation into the matter. The governing body's ethics and disciplinary inspectors are tasked with assessing the documents, which Real Madrid argues "directly affects the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system." The club has called for the investigation to advance "as quickly as possible until its complete conclusion" and urged officials to "adopt the corresponding decisions in accordance with the seriousness of the proven facts." Barcelona, for its part, has consistently maintained its innocence, insisting the payments were legitimate compensation for scouting services and technical reports about officials provided by Negreira and his company, Dasnil 95.
Barcelona responded to Real's submission by clarifying that UEFA has "not opened any new proceedings" against them, emphasizing that investigations initiated in 2023 remain ongoing without having been reopened. The club reiterated its full compliance with all UEFA requests and noted that investigators have not yet forwarded Real Madrid's complaint to Barcelona or made additional demands. The Catalan giants further stressed that the matter remains subject to criminal proceedings underway in Spain. Notably, in June 2023, UEFA's investigators already determined that Barcelona would face no punishment, allowing the club to continue participating in European competitions since that decision.
The controversy persists despite previous regulatory findings and shifting timelines. La Liga president Javier Tebas stated in March 2023 that the league "could not take any action" due to the case being "time-barred in sports law, but not in criminal law." A Barcelona court has maintained its own investigation since 2023, which remains unresolved. As UEFA deliberates on Real Madrid's newly submitted evidence, the outcome could reshape how European football addresses allegations of improper influence on officiating, with stakes extending far beyond the two Spanish giants involved.