Real Madrid Join Complaint Against Barca On Referee Scandals

Real Madrid has announced that they will join the complaint filed by Spanish prosecutors against Barcelona and two of the club's ex-presidents over alleged payments to a company owned by a senior refereeing official to influence match results.

The European and Spanish soccer champions called for an urgent board meeting to discuss the alleged attempts by their arch-rivals Barcelona to influence referees and decided to take legal action for what they called "serious accusations" by prosecutors.

What Are The Accusations Against Barcelona?

Barcelona is alleged to have paid more than 7.3 million euros ($7.8 million) between 2001 and 2018 to firms owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who was vice-president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish football association from 1993-2018.

The complaint focuses on the 2.9 million euros paid between 2014 and 2018 and alleges that Barcelona reached a "confidential verbal agreement" with Negreira with the help of former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The club, Rosell, Bartomeu, Negreira, and two other former Barcelona officials have been accused of corruption in sports, unfair administration and falsehood in mercantile documents. Barcelona denied wrongdoing, calling it "a common practice among professional football clubs" and said they will fully cooperate with the investigation.

Prosecutors claim that Negreira favoured Barcelona "in the decisions taken by referees in the games played by the club, as well as in the results of the competitions" under a secret agreement and "in exchange for money".

Result Of Real Madrid's Urgent Meeting

In a statement released by Real Madrid, they "express their deep concern about the seriousness of the facts and reiterate their full confidence in the action of the justice and have agreed that, in defence of their legitimate interests, they will join the complaint as soon as the judge takes up the case," the club said in an official statement.