Pérez: 'Negreira Case is the Biggest Scandal in Football History!'
Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, launched a fresh attack on the refereeing system in Spain, stating that the state of officiating has become the "biggest concern" for the Royal Club and that it damages the reputation and credibility of the competition both within Spain and internationally.
Pérez told the media: "I say it very clearly: Real Madrid's biggest concern is the state of refereeing in Spain. It is a problem that has transcended our borders and damaged the credibility and reputation of our league. It is absolutely incomprehensible that football institutions have left Real Madrid alone in this battle."
He added: "How is it possible that in the criminal case, we are the only ones fighting for justice? How is it possible that the head of the refereeing committee asks us to forget about it and move on? How can we forget the biggest scandal in the history of football? We will never forget. We will never do that."
Regarding the Negreira case, Pérez stated: "How is it possible that the Federation and La Liga, responsible for ensuring the integrity of the competition and achieving justice, act in this way? What explains their inaction? I hope we discover the truth one day. The Federation and La Liga have a duty to protect the integrity of the competition so that they do not appear complicit in such a serious case. There is no doubt that the Negreira case is the most serious problem facing football today, even internationally. As recent reports have indicated, we now know that more than 8 million euros were paid for technical reports on referees – the most expensive reports in the world – and that these reports were not even seen by the coaches themselves."
Barcelona and some of its former officials are currently under investigation on suspicion of making payments exceeding 7.3 million euros, allegedly paid by the club to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former Vice-President of the Technical Committee of Referees, between 2001 and 2018.
