FC Barcelona has submitted a mandatory conciliation claim against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez over statements made in May. The move is a required step before filing a criminal complaint for slander.
The claim was filed on Friday against Perez following a press conference on 12 May and a subsequent media interview. In those remarks Perez referred to the Negreira case as the greatest scandal in history and said it remains unresolved while implying Barcelona benefited improperly.
Barcelona stated the purpose of the claim is for Perez to retract statements he made with knowledge of their falsity that are slanderous to the club's image and reputation. The club added that it will proceed with a criminal complaint under Article 205 of the Penal Code if the claim is not addressed.
The Negreira case involves an ongoing investigation into payments exceeding 7 million euros made by Barcelona to the former referees committee vice president between 2001 and 2018.
