Real Madrid has filed a formal petition with UEFA requesting that FC Barcelona be stripped of titles won during a period when the Catalan club allegedly funneled roughly €7.3 million to entities tied to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees. The payments reportedly spanned from 2001 to 2018.
The scandal, known as 'Caso Negreira,' centers on undisclosed payments made by FC Barcelona to companies associated with Negreira over 17 years. Negreira held a senior position within Spain's refereeing apparatus until 2018, which raises questions about potential influence over referee assignments and performance evaluations.
Barcelona has maintained the payments were for legitimate consulting services. Real Madrid's petition specifically targets titles won between 2016 and 2018, the tail end of the payment period. The petition was filed in July 2026, though UEFA has not released any official response.
The Spanish Football Federation and La Liga have both initiated their own reviews related to the Negreira payments. Real Madrid's escalation to UEFA represents a significant move beyond domestic complaints, signaling a belief that domestic processes are insufficient and continental intervention is required.
UEFA has historically been reluctant to retroactively alter competition results, creating a difficult precedent situation for the governing body.