MADRID -- UEFA has received "a substantial amount of documents" from Real Madrid related to its ongoing inquiry into the Negreira case, European football's governing body said on Thursday.
Payments made by Barcelona to companies linked to José María Enriquez Negreira -- the former vice-president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees -- over two decades have been subject to a UEFA investigation since 2023, while there is also an ongoing Spanish criminal case.
Barcelona have said the payments, which totaled over €7 million ($7.9m), were made for technical refereeing reports.
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"UEFA can confirm that it has received from Real Madrid CF a substantial amount of documents related to the ongoing investigation into FC Barcelona in the matter involving José María Enríquez Negreira," UEFA confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
"The UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors have also received these latest documents which they will assess as part of their ongoing review."
Real Madrid said the dossier included "extensive documentation and evidence regarding events of extraordinary seriousness, which directly affect the integrity of the competition and confidence in the refereeing system."
"Real Madrid C.F. considers it essential that, now that UEFA has this documentation, the investigation proceeds with the utmost urgency until its full conclusion, and that the competent bodies take the appropriate decisions in accordance with the severity of the verified facts," the club said.
"Our club will continue to actively collaborate with UEFA and take all actions within its power to clarify events that it deems incompatible with the principles of integrity, transparency, and fair play that should govern European football."
In May, Madrid president Florentino Pérez said that the club was gathering evidence to submit a dossier to UEFA.
Having previously adopted a conciliatory tone with Barcelona -- saying in 2024 that the two clubs "have to help each other" as they worked together on the proposed European Super League -- Pérez has since been extremely critical of his LaLiga rivals.
"They've stolen seven league [titles] from me," Pérez said in May.
In a statement, Barcelona emphasized that Thursday's development did not equate to "any new proceedings."
"The proceedings were initiated in 2023, with the appointment of two investigators who have since carried out the action they deemed appropriate," Barcelona said. "The Club has always complied with all their requests. These proceedings have not been reopened because they have never been closed.
"The UEFA statement confirms receipt of documentation submitted by Real Madrid and indicates that the investigators will assess it within the framework of the existing investigation. The same text expressly refers, on two occasions, to an investigation and a review that are 'ongoing.' It therefore does not announce the opening, reopening, or reactivation of any proceedings, nor does it contain any assessment of the substance or value of the documentation provided.
"It is up to the investigators to determine what action, if any, they consider appropriate regarding this documentation. As of today, they have not made any new requests to FC Barcelona nor have they forwarded Real Madrid's complaint to the Club. Should they do so, the Club will respond accordingly, as it has done up to now.
"In accordance with the applicable legislation governing this matter, these proceedings are subject to the outcome of the criminal case currently being heard in Spain and will continue to be so."