a A year ago, Florentino Perez was looking for calm. “I’m not angry at Barcelona. Real Madrid and Barcelona have to help each other,” he told parliament at the time. The tone is different today, and the sense of distance is also different. The Real Madrid president shattered any pretense of institutional decorum by reopening the “Negreira incident” with unprecedented force in this forum.
Florentino told members: “Whatever the reason, it is unusual for Barcelona to have paid a refereeing vice-president more than 8 million euros over a period of at least 17 years.” And he repeated it twice to emphasize its seriousness: “Again, whatever the reason, this is not normal.” He recalled that Enriquez Negreira held an “important position in the refereeing hierarchy” and was responsible for communicating promotions and demotions of referees. “This period coincidentally coincides with Barcelona’s best sporting performance in our country,” he concluded.
Florentino Palo, Lovitros vs Barcelona Negreira match
That part of the speech was accompanied by several graphics, including a comparison between the two clubs regarding the balance of expulsions. “In 2021, Real Madrid had two men sent off, while Barcelona had 61. The difference is more than 59. But in the same period in Europe, the balances were almost the same: Barça +12 and Madrid +13,” Florentino said. Similar facts in other leagues and at continental level: “Bayern and Dortmund have the same balance, and the same goes for Major League Baseball. Barcelona’s sending-offs during the Negreira era were +49, while Real Madrid’s was -1. Draw your own conclusions…”
From there, the president took his speech to an even more demanding level. “Real Madrid are the only team that has gone to court, with four presidents paying the assistant referee $1 million over 17 years,” he enthused. He further criticized the CTA president’s stance, saying, “Mr. Fran Soto has asked us to turn the page and forget about the Negreira incident. Who would forget?” He highlighted the persistence of many of the referees involved, saying: “The reality is they’re still there. It’s a situation that prevents them from acting in a neutral position.”
Florentino even brought up a recent episode to illustrate the tensions that, according to him, still exist in the refereeing world: “How is it possible that before the Copa del Rey final the referee of this match said that he would take action against our club? Before the Copa del Rey final? He should have been sacked, no action should have been taken.”
The president concluded his criticism by pointing out La Liga’s role in the episode related to the match between Barça and Miami. “Even our captain Frenkie de Jong doesn’t think it’s normal,” he said of the attempt to hold a competitive match in Miami. “It is also unusual for La Liga to support two teams, Barcelona and Villarreal, who receive additional financial incentives for playing in Miami. Still, you have to listen to Tebas who tries to compare this to the NFL.”
