The war of words between Barcelona and Real Madrid just escalated into something far more serious. And it’s no longer just about what was said in a press conference.
On Wednesday, FC Barcelona confirmed it has sent formal letters to the presidents of La Liga, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), and the Referees’ Technical Committee (CTA) demanding they take disciplinary and legal action against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. The move is a direct response to Perez’s explosive public comments in mid-May, when he accused Barcelona of stealing multiple La Liga titles with the help of referees.
According to the official statement from the reigning La Liga champions, Barcelona president Rafael Yuste sent the letters to La Liga boss Javier Tebas, RFEF president Rafael Louzan, and CTA chief Francisco Soto. The club argues that Perez’s remarks are not just false — they’re a direct attack on the integrity of Spanish football itself.
“FC Barcelona believes that these statements, in addition to being false, seriously undermine the honor and image of the First Division League competition, as well as the refereeing body as a whole, and damage the reputation and credibility of Spanish professional football,” the statement reads.
This is far from a simple back-and-forth. Barcelona has already begun the process of filing a lawsuit against Perez and Real Madrid individually. Now, they want the institutions that run Spanish football to join the fight — or at least stop Perez from what they see as a campaign of defamation.
“The Club urges the competition’s co-organizers and the referees to defend the reputation of their organizations—just as the Club has recently done by filing the conciliation claim,” the statement continued. “The Club asks the recipient entities to urgently adopt, within the scope of their respective competencies, the appropriate associative and judicial measures against Mr. Perez to defend the honor, integrity, and prestige of the institutions they represent and the competitions they organize.”
The timing is telling. Real Madrid fired the first salvo by submitting a dossier to UEFA against Barcelona regarding the ongoing Negreira case, which involves payments made by Barcelona to a former refereeing official. Barcelona has maintained its innocence throughout, insisting the payments were for technical reports and not for influencing match officials.
But Perez’s press conference last month crossed a line for Barcelona. During that appearance, the Real Madrid president directly accused the Catalans of stealing titles through referee bias — a charge that, if proven, would be among the gravest in modern football history. Barcelona clearly feels that leaving those accusations unanswered at the institutional level would set a dangerous precedent.
What happens next is anyone’s guess. La Liga, the RFEF, and the CTA have not yet responded publicly. Real Madrid, meanwhile, has not commented on Barcelona’s latest move. But the stakes could not be higher: the two biggest clubs in Spain are now locked in a legal and institutional battle that goes far beyond the pitch.
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