Barcelona Take Legal Action Against Florentino Perez

Barcelona announced that they have started official legal proceedings against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. The Catalan club filed a conciliation request over the statements made by the Spanish president at the press conference held on May 12 during his election campaign period and in an interview with a media outlet the following day. This step, considered the mandatory legal phase before filing a criminal complaint for the crime of slander under Article 205 of the Spanish Penal Code, has taken the Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry to a new dimension.

Florentino Perez had referred to the Negreira case at the press conference in question and described Barcelona as "the biggest corruption case in the history of football." The Real Madrid president had alleged that the Catalan club had "stolen" domestic league titles through payments exceeding 7 million euros made to former referees' committee vice president José María Enríquez Negreira between 2001 and 2018. Perez had also stated that the matter does not only affect Real Madrid, but other clubs also suffer from it. These statements were considered part of the presidential election campaign in which he was a candidate last month.

Barcelona's official statement emphasised that Perez made the statements knowing them to be untrue, damaging the club's image and reputation. The statement demanded that Perez retract these words. If the Catalan club's demands are not met during the conciliation process, the formal criminal complaint process will be initiated. In other words, if the Real Madrid president apologises publicly and retracts his statements, the process can end here; otherwise, Perez will have to defend what he said in court.

Florentino Perez's past statements also give hints about how this legal process will shape up. The Real Madrid president had previously used expressions showing that he did not take Barcelona's legal threats seriously. Perez had said in the past: "Barça would do well to sue me." This approach shows that the Real Madrid president is highly likely not to respond positively to the conciliation request. Perez had also submitted a dossier to UEFA, demanding that Barcelona's titles be revoked due to the Negreira case and that the Catalan club be banned from European competitions. 

Barcelona president Joan Laporta and vice president Rafa Yuste had strongly opposed Perez's statements and argued that the initiation of legal proceedings was necessary. This legal move concretely shows that the historic rivalry between the two clubs has gone far beyond the pitch. The Negreira case is still an ongoing process in Spanish courts, and Barcelona aims to prove its innocence with the conclusion of the case.

In the coming weeks, how Perez will respond to the conciliation request will become clear. If he does not apologise publicly and retract his statements, the Real Madrid president will be tried before Spanish courts for the crime of slander. This situation may go down as one of the most symbolic and politically loaded legal processes in La Liga history. Barcelona also stated that it will follow all legal consequences of the step taken in the name of protecting the club's reputation.

Image: marca.com