Real Madrid to take authorized motion towards Barcelona for refereeing scandal

Real Madrid will be part of the grievance filed on Friday by Spanish prosecutors towards Barcelona and two of the LaLiga membership’s ex-presidents over alleged funds to an organization owned by a senior refereeing official to affect match outcomes, the membership stated on Sunday.

The European and Spanish soccer champions known as an pressing board assembly to debate alleged makes an attempt by arch rivals Barcelona to affect referees and determined to take authorized motion for what they known as “serious accusations” by prosecutors.

“Real Madrid 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 membership stated in a official assertion.

Barcelona allegedly paid greater than 7.3 million euros ($7.8 million) between 2001 and 2018 to corporations owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who was vice-president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish soccer affiliation from 1993-2018.

Prosecutors allege that below a secret settlement and “in exchange for money”, 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”.

A senior Barcelona official instructed Reuters on Friday that the membership had anticipated the prosecutors’ grievance and described it as “nothing more than an absolutely preliminary investigative hypothesis”.

The official stated the membership “will fully cooperate with the investigation by all means necessary” and “reiterate that they have never bought any referee nor have tried to influence any official’s decisions”.

In a press release final month, Barca denied wrongdoing, saying they’d merely paid an exterior marketing consultant who equipped them with “technical reports related to professional refereeing”, calling it “a common practice among professional football clubs”.

The grievance focuses on the two.9 million euros paid between 2014 and 2018 and alleges that Barcelona — with the assistance of former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu — reached a “confidential verbal agreement” with Negreira.

It accuses the membership, Rosell, Bartomeu, Negreira and two different former Barcelona officers of corruption in sports activities, unfair administration and falsehood in mercantile paperwork.