Barcelona and Real Madrid at war as Negreira case catalyses alleged 'smear campaign'

Martin Macdonald

• 11 Mar 2026 07:01 CDT
• 5 min read

News

Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has accused Real Madrid of catalysing a 'smear' campaign against the Catalan side following the fallout from the Negreira case investigation.

What is the Negreira case?

Barcelona have been ordered by a Spanish court to provide every and all documents relating to €7 million worth of payments made to one Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira - the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA).

The payments to Negreira were made between 2001 and 2018.

The situation was then exacerbated as investigators found that there was no paper trail available for these payments. If there once was a paper trail, it has been lost.

Barcelona allege that these payments were made for consulting purposes as Negreira provided them with scouting reports on referees.

Real Madrid and president Florentino Perez demanded an inquiry into the payments and they have been the main pursuers of alleged justice.

The legal process is ongoing, but Perez is furious as he believes Real Madrid are fighting the case on their own.

In his Christmas address as Madrid president, Perez said a few months ago.

"Christmas is a time that invites us to reflect. This club has built its history and its legend. We are the club with the highest income in the world according to Deloitte and the most valuable according to Forbes. This has allowed us to live one of our most successful periods in these 15 years, both in football and basketball.

"But Christmas is also a time to reflect. And Madrid's biggest concern is the refereeing situation. As you well know, the extremely serious situation that occurred with the 'Negreira case' for almost two decades deserves justice.

"It is completely incomprehensible that the institutions have left Madrid alone in this fight. How is it possible that the president of the referees asks us to forget it? How are we going to forget the biggest scandal in the history of football? How can the RFEF and La Liga behave like this? They have a duty to ensure integrity.

"The 'Negreira case' is the most serious case in football today. We know that more than 8 million euros have been paid for technical reports on referees. And on top of that, they were never received by the coaches.

"Who can believe that they paid for these reports that the coaches didn't even know existed? It highlights the need for a radical change."

Laporta hits back

Laporta, who recently resigned from his post as Barcelona president in order to become eligible for another stint in the role, has swung the spotlight back on Real Madrid and their historical relationship with the Referees Committee in Spain.

"Don’t you think it’s shameful that for 72 years the committee was run by Real Madrid members?" Laporta asked Cadena Cope.

"All members. Isn’t that shameful? It was referee advice, not sports corruption. But you never ask them questions about that; stop playing with me."

Laporta was then asked about one of his campaign slogans, "against it all and against everyone," and he thereafter spoke about Real Madrid and the Spanish Football Federation's Technical Committee of Referees (CTA).

“Against all odds and against everyone is an expression to illustrate what has been happening to us at Barca for years," he continued.

"The club was dominated, subjugated. It was under intervention; they were allowed to do certain things with the intention of reaching this point. The exorbitant contracts weren’t subject to any economic oversight.

“We were up against a smear campaign orchestrated from Madrid regarding the Negreira case. What Barca did was legal, it was done very well. At that time, they were paying a company – we’ve already come across it – that produced referee reports to analyse the referees’ performance. I’m sure Real Madrid did the same. Now Real Madrid has Megia Davila, the wife of the Referees’ Committee.

“Doesn’t that seem disgraceful to you? It seems perfectly normal to you. Maybe they didn’t need to hire refereeing experts because they were already doing it, even better. Didn’t you realise that in Madrid or what? Is what Barca does disgraceful? Wasn’t what Madrid did disgraceful?”

Perez believes that the corruption goes further and even suggested a club in Spain has been relegated because of it.

"It is possible that some club has been relegated as a victim of the 'Negreira case'," The Madrid president suggested.

"Our football has been damaged and justice must be done. Do not forget that the investigating judge of the case described it as systemic corruption. And Barca acknowledged that these payments were made because they were convenient. Why? For what? Madrid will continue to insist, and you in the media play a fundamental role."

'Barcelona should have been relegated'

La Liga president Javier Tebas previously suggested that Barcelona would have been relegated if they were found guilty of corruption during the period for which they are accused, but the statute of limitations has now expired.

Speaking at a Europa Press meeting in February, he said:

"Sporting corruption is in the criminal sphere and there is no statute of limitations there. That does not mean that there is buying of referees. We believe that the money that Negreira received was with the aim of influencing promotions and relegations and that is sporting corruption. That has not expired.

"Then there is the sporting sphere. When the facts were discovered, three years had already passed and the statute of limitations had expired in the sporting sphere. If we could, of course, we would [mete out] the corresponding sanctions. If it had not expired, Barcelona would be relegated."

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