A new development in the high-profile Negreira case, with UEFA confirming that it now has in its possession the dossier submitted by Real Madrid regarding the case involving Barcelona and payments to the former vice president of the Technicalof the Spanish Football Federation, José María Enríquez Negreira.
The European federation announced that it has received “a significant number of documents” from Real Madrid and that the material is now in the hands of the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors, who will evaluate it as part of their investigation into the case.
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According to Marca, Real Madrid had been preparing an extensive dossier containing evidence from the case for several months and sought to have it examined at the European level, since the Spanish legal proceedings are still ongoing.
The move by the Madrid authorities comes at a time when the case is approaching a new critical stage. The judicial investigation in Spain is expected to be completed toward the end of 2026, with the trial expected to follow, provided that this timeline is adhered to
UEFA had opened the case in 2023
Today’s development does not concern a new case being opened from scratch. UEFA’s relevant investigators had already initiated disciplinary proceedings in March 2023, examining the possibility of a violation of the European federation’s regulatory framework due to payments made to Negreira.
The proceedings, however, had been temporarily suspended, as UEFA decided to await the outcome of the criminal investigation being conducted by the Spanish judiciary.
Now, with the submission of new evidence by Real Madrid, the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors are called upon to evaluate the documents and determine whether any new information has emerged that could affect the European proceedings.
The next step
The receipt of the file from UEFA does not mean that a decision has been made to impose any sanctions on Barcelona. The next stage is for the relevant investigators to evaluate the documents, after which the Catalan club’s position will also need to be examined.
Real Madrid has repeatedly argued that the case should have consequences at the European level as well, and UEFA is now called upon to evaluate the new evidence in its possession and decide on the next steps in the process.
The issue thus takes on a European dimension once again, with the case—which was opened in 2023—returning to the spotlight.
*photo source: AP
