The long-standing rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid has a new, legal chapter. The Catalan club has announced that it has started proceedings against the president of the Madrid giants Florentino Perez because of his statements about the Negreira affair and alleged referee favoritism towards the president-led Barcelona Joan Laporta.
Perez launched a scathing attack on Barcelona at a high-profile press conference last month, referring to the affair Negreirawhich has been weighing on the Catalan club for a long time. The president of Real Madrid has claimed that Barcelona have “stolen” several titles from the Spanish champions due to the alleged favoritism of the referees.
He repeated similar accusations a day later in a conversation for one of the media, which triggered a strong response in Barcelona. The Catalans announced shortly after Perez’s statements that they were studying legal options, but now they have taken the next step.
They demand that Perez cancel or withdraw the disputed statements
In an official statement, Barcelona wrote that it has filed a request for a conciliation procedure, which in Spain is a prerequisite for filing a defamation lawsuit under Article 205 of the Penal Code. The club is asking Perez to cancel or retract the controversial statements, which they claim are untrue, offensive and damaging to Barcelona’s reputation.
Florentino Perez recently won a new presidential election in Madrid. PHOTO: Ana Beltran/Reuters
“FC Barcelona announces that today it has filed the required preliminary conciliation request before filing a lawsuit for criminal defamation against the president of Real Madrid, Mr. Florentino Perez, due to the statements he made at a press conference on May 12 and a day later in a conversation with one of the media,” the Catalan club wrote.
They added that the aim of the process is to get Perez to withdraw the statements “which he knew to be untrue”, and at the same time they are described in Barcelona as defamatory and insulting to the image and reputation of the club. If Perez does not comply with the request, Barcelona will file criminal charges.
Relations between the giants have long been strained
In Madrid, it does not appear for now that they intend to soften their positions regarding the Negreira affair. Real and Perez have resolutely persisted in their accusations in recent months, and the Madrid club has already sent a document to Uefa, in which it is said to collect cases that, in their opinion, show favorable referee treatment of Barcelona in the past.
Relations between the Spanish giants have long been strained, but now they have reached one of their lowest points in recent years. After the sports, political and media settlement, the biggest Spanish football rivalry is moving to the legal field.
