Florentino Pérez and Joan Laporta
President of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez will not attend the league match against Barcelona at Camp Nou this Sunday, which has been marred by the so-called ‘Negreira incident’. Barcelona club information source.
Perez will not sit in the box next to his Barça counterpart Joao Laporta. There’s also no traditional pre-league directive meal.
The Real Madrid president’s decision comes days after the Merengue club decided to appear in a case being investigated by a court in Barcelona over payments from Barça to a former referee.
The Spanish press has been asserting for days that Real Madrid’s decision upsets the Barça club.
A Barcelona court on Wednesday allowed it to proceed with the prosecutor’s office’s complaint against Barcelona and the club’s former coach. Among them were former presidents Sandro Roselle and Josep Maria Bartomeu for “interpersonal corruption” among other crimes.
The complaint is also directed against José María Enriquez Negreira, former vice-president of the Technical Commission for Appeals (CTA).
According to prosecutors, Negreira received more than €7.3 million ($7.7 million) from Barcelona through his company between 2001 and 2018.
Barca stopped paying him in 2018 when Negreira left the CTA.
Barça, through Roselle and Bartomeu, “reached and maintained a confidential verbal agreement” with Negreira, so that, in exchange for money, as vice-president of the CTA, Barça would have the FCB’s authority in refereeing decisions in matches played by the club. ”.
On Friday, President Laporta released a video message calling on fans to go to the Camp Nou this Sunday to support the team, deeming the incident a campaign to “destabilize the team”.
League leaders Barça, who have a nine-point advantage over Real Madrid, welcome a Merengue team this Sunday and could make a big leap towards the title if they win.
Source: Diario.Elmundo
