Real Madrid’s Perez summoned over Barcelona referee payments comments

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and Barcelona FC have been summoned to a Madrid court on November 25 for a conciliation hearing, potentially leading to criminal proceedings for defamation. This comes after Barcelona launched legal action on June 12, alleging Perez's May comments about the Catalan club's attempts to secure favorable treatment from referees were knowingly false, defamatory, and damaging to the club's image and reputation.

The dispute centers around the "Negreira case", in which Spanish courts are investigating alleged payments of up to €7 million over nearly two decades by Barcelona to companies linked to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, a former vice-president of Spain's refereeing committee. Barcelona denies any wrongdoing, stating the payments were for reports on referees, and the court dismissed bribery charges against the club in 2024.

Perez described the situation as "the most serious case of corruption in football," claiming Barcelona had offered money to the head of the referees and that Real Madrid had been denied league titles due to the alleged corruption.