Jose Mourinho, the Portuguese manager of Spanish club Real Madrid, has renewed his criticism of the way Spain’s sporting and judicial authorities have handled the Negreira case, saying that allowing the matter to continue without sanctions could make it “the biggest corruption scandal in the history of world refereeing”. Mourinho compared the course of the Spanish investigation with the measures taken in Italy after the Calciopoli case.
Barcelona payments and the Negreira case investigation
Judicial authorities are investigating the nature of the payments and the purpose for which they were made, while Barcelona denies any wrongdoing. The Catalan club says the money was paid for technical reports and refereeing advice, rejecting the allegations linked to the case.
Real Madrid calls for investigation to be resolved
Mourinho’s comments come more than 3 years after the case came to light in February 2023, while the dispute continues between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish club has stepped up its calls for the investigation to be concluded and responsibilities to be determined, and has submitted documents to UEFA in support of its investigation into the payments.
In comments to the Italian platform Prime Video, Mourinho recalled the match-fixing case known as Calciopoli, which resulted in Juventus being relegated to the second tier in 2006. The Portuguese manager expressed his frustration that no similar action had yet been taken in Spain.
Mourinho compares case with Calciopoli
Mourinho said: “I congratulate the Italians. Do you know why? Because it is the only country that witnessed the Calciopoli scandal in every sense of the word. In Spain, with what happened, and everyone knows what happened, the atmosphere is still charged with tension, and until now nothing has happened, absolutely nothing.”
If nothing happens, this may be the biggest corruption scandal in the history of world refereeing
He previously told Corriere dello Sport that he experienced that complicated period while he was in charge of Real Madrid’s football operations between 2010 and 2013. In his earlier comments, Mourinho said that Real Madrid had sensed that something was not normal during that period, before information about the case later emerged and became public.
His repeated return to the case in the foreign press is seen as part of an effort to keep Barcelona’s payments to companies linked to Negreira in the global media spotlight. The payments under investigation continued over 17 years, during which Negreira was linked to a former senior position on Spain’s refereeing committee.
By contrast, parties in Spain have adopted a more cautious approach to the case while awaiting the completion of the investigations, the sporting justice process and the determination of responsibility for the payments.
