Florentino Perez criticises Barcelona and La Liga officiating

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez criticised the standard of Spanish refereeing and once again referenced the Negreira case, questioning Barcelona’s reported 8 million euros paid over 17 years. He also opposed La Liga’s attempt to schedule a Barcelona-Villarreal match in Miami, calling the plan unfair and unsupported by UEFA.

When the Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez addressed the Assembly of Representative Members on Sunday, he launched a strong criticism of Barcelona and La Liga’s refereeing standards. Perez revisited the long-running Negreira case, highlighting that Barcelona had reportedly paid over €8 million across 17 years to the former vice president of the referees’ association, a period that aligned with some of the club’s most successful domestic campaigns.

He labelled the situation unacceptable and linked it to what he described as the poor overall quality of Spanish refereeing. Perez stressed that FIFA’s decision to exclude all 35 Spanish on field referees from its latest selections reflected badly on the league and strengthened his argument about declining standards. The Real Madrid chief also criticised La Liga’s attempt to stage Barcelona’s match against Villarreal in Miami, calling the idea abnormal and pointing out that even Barça captain Frenkie de Jong disagreed with the plan.

Perez claimed La Liga unfairly supported Barcelona and Villarreal with additional financial incentives for playing abroad, while comparing the failed proposal with a successful NFL game in Miami was misleading since that event had full regulatory approval. He concluded by calling the Miami experiment a failed gamble that lacked backing from UEFA and the broader football community.