UEFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Barcelona in 'Negreira case'

UEFA has officially confirmed the opening of disciplinary proceedings against Barcelona in relation to the 'Negreira case'. This move follows the receipt of a massive volume of documentation submitted by Real Madrid, which provided approximately 50,000 pages of files intended to clarify payments totaling 8.4 million euros.

The payments were made between 2001 and 2018 to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who served as vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the RFEF. UEFA's Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors are currently conducting a detailed analysis of the evidence, which includes contracts, reports, and testimonies.

Unlike in Spain, where the matter is considered statute-barred, the European governing body has made it clear that the procedure will remain open until its conclusion to determine whether there were attempts to manipulate the competition. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin previously labeled the situation as one of the most serious he has seen in football, noting that for UEFA, statutes of limitation do not apply in this manner.

Under Article 4 of the UEFA regulations, the governing body has the authority to ban any club from European tournaments if it determines that there was an alteration of the competitive order. Barcelona will now have the opportunity to present their allegations as the investigation continues.