Barcelona has initiated legal proceedings against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez concerning remarks he made related to the ‘Negreira case’.
The Blaugranas have confirmed that they have submitted a request for conciliation against Perez.
According to Spanish law, this process allows the accused individual an opportunity to retract or amend their statements before any formal legal action is taken.
The club indicated that should Perez decline to withdraw his remarks, they will proceed with a criminal complaint.
Barcelona’s decision to act against Perez stems from comments he made during a press conference on May 12 and in a subsequent media interview.
The club contends that certain statements he made were intentionally false and have harmed Barcelona’s reputation.
In their official statement, Barcelona articulated that their aim is to obtain a retraction of what they consider slanderous remarks detrimental to the club’s image.
The case is being pursued under Article 205 of Spain’s Penal Code, which pertains to defamation.
Perez’s statements addressed the ongoing investigation into payments made by Barcelona to former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
The reported payment of €8.4 million has become one of the most contentious issues in Spanish football.
During his press conference in May, Perez referred to the situation as ‘the biggest scandal in history’ and an extraordinary instance of corruption.
He also emphasized that referees from the time frame in question are still officiating in current competitions.
Perez announced that Real Madrid is compiling a comprehensive dossier on the case, which he plans to submit to UEFA at the season’s end.
According to Perez, this report will consist of hundreds of pages of information regarding the investigation.
These comments were made just prior to Perez’s re-election as president of Madrid, where he secured nearly two-thirds of the vote against Enrique Riquelme.