Perez vents fury over ‘stolen’ silverware
In a remarkable public outburst Real president Perez has hit out at what he perceives to be systemic corruption within Spanish football. Perez, experiencing
“We’ve been left empty-handed, and I’ve been here I don’t know how many seasons and I’ve only won seven European Cups and seven league titles, which could have been 14 because they’ve been stolen from me,” Perez told reporters in a press conference, per
Negreira case back in the spotlight
The core of Perez’s frustration remains the Negreira case, which he described as “the biggest scandal in history”. He alleged that Barcelona’s historical payments to the former vice-president of the Spanish Referees’ Committee have created a lasting bias that continues to affect the integrity of the competition today.
“Three years ago, we learned about the Negreira Case. The biggest scandal in history. They’ve been paying for two decades, but now it’s the same referees for this third decade,” Perez said. “We will present a substantial dossier to UEFA so they can tackle this issue at its root and resolve the case for the good of world football.
“We’re preparing a 500-page dossier that I’ll send to UEFA when the competition is over. I’ve already spoken with them. There’s no precedent for this in the history of world football. It’s the biggest corruption case ever.
“The Real Madrid members are with me in my fight against Negreira case. It’s not always Real Madrid that suffers; other teams do too. Barca always benefits. Let’s see if UEFA gets involved in this matter. I didn’t come here so that the referees could get rich off Barcelona’s money.”
Barcelona prepare legal counter-offensive
Barcelona have not taken these accusations lying down. The Catalan club, who have consistently denied any wrongdoing and maintained that payments were made for legitimate technical reports on referees, issued
Perez declares war on all fronts
The sting of the weekend Clasico defeat is undoubtedly exacerbated by its historic weight. Not only did the match mark the first time ever that Barcelona mathematically secured the La Liga trophy directly against Real Madrid, but the result also officially levelled the all-time head-to-head record between the clubs at exactly 106 wins each. This bitter reality seems to have only fuelled Perez’s determination to challenge the broader integrity of the Spanish top flight.
The Real Madrid supremo made it clear that he views this as a multi-front battle against the footballing establishment. “Of course, there’s also our perennial enemy, La Liga. We’re going to fight. I’m fighting against everyone. The systemic corruption of the Negreira Case… How can we just forget it?” Perez declared. “It’s unacceptable that I’m the one under suspicion of corruption for over 20 years. Let’s see what happens with UEFA’s legal and sporting investigations.”
