Real Madrid is pushing hard to get UEFA to punish Barcelona over the Negreira case. They submitted a dossier last month. And club president Florentino Perez is personally leading the charge, arguing that Barcelona did something wrong when they made payments to the former Referee’s Committee vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. Madrid is also involved in the legal case as an injured party.
But La Liga president Javier Tebas isn’t buying it. He spoke during a press conference this week and took a shot at the Bernabeu club. Tebas said he hasn’t read Madrid’s dossier yet, but he wants to. He also questioned Madrid’s timing and motivation.
“I want to see since what year they complain,” Tebas said, according to MD. “If they complain about the mistakes that have been made with all the clubs, including Real Madrid itself. If anyone can’t complain about refereeing errors, it’s Real Madrid.”
Tebas didn’t stop there. He was asked if he’d speak at a Real Madrid presidential inauguration like he did earlier this week at Barcelona’s event. At that Barcelona event, Joan Laporta used the stage to fire shots at Perez and Madrid. Tebas said sure, he’d go to a Madrid inauguration. He’d even take the floor.
“I would say the same thing I said yesterday,” Tebas said. “That there are periods of differences, complicated, that each one defends certain circumstances, but the important thing is to work with respect for the institutions.”
He also mentioned that he gets invited to Madrid’s box every weekend but doesn’t go for personal reasons. Family stuff.
Real Madrid, for its part, probably doesn’t care what Tebas thinks. They’ll keep pushing for punishment over the Negreira case. UEFA, so far, isn’t ready to rule on the dossier. That could change. Or it might not. The whole thing is still very much in motion.
The Negreira case has been a mess for Barcelona. Payments were made over a long stretch, and nobody has fully explained why. Barcelona says they paid for technical reports. The legal system is still sorting it out. Real Madrid sees an opening and they’re taking it.
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