During the court hearing for the Negreira Case that took place on December 12, lawyers for Real Madrid, acting as a private prosecutor, interrogated Barcelona President Joan Laporta. AS reports this.
According to the source, representatives of los Blancos asked Laporta about the reason behind the eightfold increase in payments to the former Vice President of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Jose Maria Negreira, and the role of Negreira's son in preparing unpublished analytical reports about referees for Barcelona. Additionally, Real Madrid's lawyers inquired why Barcelona concealed the fact of making these payments from tax authorities and the information about their original source.
In 2023, Barcelona were charged with corruption related to payments made to Negreira, who held a position in the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The club is accused of making these payments between 2001 and 2018, totaling approximately €8.4 million.
According to the Catalan side, Negreira was engaged as an independent consultant to provide technical reports on refereeing. The former CTA Vice President denies receiving bribes to influence referee decisions.
