News Focus
- Joan Laporta says Real Madrid’s Negreira complaints hide their trophy drought
- Former referees chief Negreira may avoid court due to poor health
- Real Madrid president Perez claims club lost seven La Liga titles due to bias
- Los Blancos plan to send 500-page dossier to UEFA
- Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa rejects Laporta’s comments
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has strongly rejected accusations from Real Madrid regarding the Negreira corruption scandal. He claims their rivals are using the case to distract fans from their poor results.
The Negreira case involves payments of €7-8 million that Barcelona made over 17 years to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. He used to work as vice-president of the Spanish referees committee. The payments became public three years ago. Authorities are still investigating the matter.
Recent medical reports suggest Negreira cannot stand trial. Doctors say his mental health has declined too much. This means he cannot give evidence in court as a witness or defendant.
Speaking at a charity golf event called the Koeman Cup, Laporta told reporters that Real Madrid’s complaints are false. He believes they want to shift attention away from their failure to win silverware.
“This is not a real case. These are lies,” Laporta said. “They want to create a smokescreen. They have not won any trophies for two years. They use Barcelona to hide their own failures.”
He pointed out that Barcelona have won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups and one Copa del Rey in recent seasons. He added that Real Madrid have spent heavily on players but have nothing to show for it.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez recently made strong statements about the case. He said his club was cheated out of seven league championships. He also announced plans to send a 500-page document to UEFA. This file will contain evidence of biased refereeing, according to Madrid.
Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has responded to Laporta’s words. He said he does not care about what the Barcelona president says.
The rivalry between Spain’s two biggest clubs continues to heat up both on and off the pitch.