In the long shadow cast by the Negreira affair, Real Madrid and Barcelona are now heading towards a courtroom meeting in the Spanish capital.
Key takeaways
- Representatives of Real Madrid and Barcelona are due before a Madrid court on 25 November.
- The hearing is a compulsory conciliation step before Barcelona can pursue a criminal defamation case against Florentino Pérez.
- Barcelona filed its request on 12 June after remarks made by the Real Madrid president in May.
- Pérez had alleged that Barcelona sought favourable treatment from match officials.
- The Catalan club wants Pérez to retract statements it says were false, defamatory and damaging to its reputation.
A conciliation hearing before any formal case
The 25 November session will take place at a Madrid court and is intended to test whether the dispute can be settled before Barcelona files a formal criminal complaint for defamation.
Barcelona’s action stems from comments made by Pérez in May, when he referred to alleged attempts by the club to secure refereeing advantages. His remarks were linked to the Negreira case, involving José María Enríquez Negreira, the former Spanish refereeing chief who is accused of having received payments from Barcelona.
Barcelona lodged its court application on 12 June. The club said at the time that it wanted the Real Madrid president to withdraw specific comments made with knowledge that they were untrue, defamatory and harmful to Barcelona’s image and standing.
Barcelona ready to take the next step
The conciliation process is the final legal stage before a potential criminal filing. If no agreement is reached during the Madrid hearing, Barcelona has said it will move forward with the corresponding defamation complaint against Pérez.
The case adds a legal edge to one of football’s most combustible rivalries, with the two clubs’ leaders expected to face each other away from the stadium and under the scrutiny of a court.
