Barcelona’s Legal Challenge Over Pérez Comments Reaches Court

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and FC Barcelona have been summoned to appear before a Madrid court on November 25 for a conciliation hearing. The hearing follows legal action initiated by Barcelona on June 12 over remarks Pérez made accusing the club of manipulating refereeing decisions. Barcelona is seeking a formal retraction of the statements and has warned that failure to reach an agreement will lead to a criminal defamation complaint.

The dispute stems from comments made by Pérez on May 12 regarding the Negreira case, where he claimed Barcelona engaged in football corruption and alleged league titles were stolen from Real Madrid. Spanish courts continue to investigate past payments made by Barcelona to former refereeing official José María Enríquez Negreira, which Barcelona maintains were legitimate scouting consultancy fees.