The Negreira case has taken another important development, as Real Madrid has submitted to UEFA a file of around 50,000 pages with documents, evidence and materials related to payments made by Barcelona to the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees in Spain, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
According to the "AS" report, Real Madrid is asking UEFA to examine the sporting consequences of the case and, if found responsible, to take measures against Barcelona, including the possibility of stripping them of the titles won during the period covered by the investigation, from 2001 to 2018.
UEFA has confirmed that it has received the documentation submitted by Real Madrid and that the materials have been forwarded to the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors, who will analyze the file as part of the ongoing procedure against the Catalan club.
At the heart of the case are payments of around 8.4 million euros that Barcelona made between 2001 and 2018 to companies linked to Negreira. At the time, he was vice-president of the Technical Referees Committee, which has made the matter the subject of a wide-ranging investigation in Spain and by UEFA.
However, there has been no final court ruling to date establishing that Barcelona manipulated matches or influenced sporting results. For this reason, the sporting consequences also remain part of an ongoing procedure.
One of the measures that could be considered by UEFA is the exclusion of Barcelona from European competitions if the disciplinary bodies conclude that competition integrity rules have been breached. However, this is only a possibility within the procedure and does not constitute a decision taken against the club.
Barcelona will have the opportunity to present its arguments and defense during the procedure.
At the moment, therefore, there is no decision to strip Barcelona of their titles or be expelled from the Champions League. UEFA's investigation continues and any action against the club will depend on the conclusions of the relevant disciplinary bodies.
