Barcelona take Florentino Perez to court as conciliation hearing date is set

The legal feud between Spanish football heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona is escalating into a new chapter. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and Barcelona representatives have been summoned to a court conciliation hearing following a defamation complaint filed by the Catalan club over statements made by the Los Blancos chief in May. The hearing is scheduled for November 25 at 09:40 CET in a Madrid courtroom.

Barcelona are demanding a full, official retraction of Perez's claims. The outcome of the session will determine the next steps in this high-profile institutional clash: if Perez fails to appear or refuses to issue an apology and retract his words, Barcelona are prepared to proceed with a formal criminal lawsuit.

The hearing was initially broken by radio station Cadena COPE and subsequently confirmed by Spanish sports daily Marca. Barcelona's hierarchy remains furious over Perez's remarks, branding them defamatory and a deliberate attempt to destabilise the club.

The dispute stems from public statements made by Perez concerning the payments scandal involving former Spanish refereeing official Enriquez Negreira:

"The corruption in the Negreira case is systemic. It is the biggest scandal in football history. It is unacceptable to hear the president of the Referees' Committee claim that these matters should simply be forgotten. We are preparing a 500-page dossier to submit to UEFA—I have already spoken with them. There is no precedent for this in world football. UEFA must finally take decisive action, as the most important football in the world—European football—cannot exist under the shadow of suspicion over bought referees for two decades."

Barcelona fired back swiftly, with vice-president Rafael Yuste declaring shortly afterwards: "He resorted to slander to destabilise us. We will see each other in court. Nobody has the right to tarnish Barca's name and crest. We will defend the club because the truth is on our side."

Back in June, the Catalan giants confirmed legal proceedings in an official statement: "FC Barcelona announces that the mandatory conciliation request has been filed prior to bringing criminal defamation proceedings under Article 205 of the Penal Code against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. This follows his public statements during the May 12 press conference and a subsequent interview. The purpose is for Mr Perez to retract claims made in full awareness of their falsehood, which have harmed our club's prestige and reputation. If this demand is not met, Barcelona will escalate to the next judicial level by filing a criminal lawsuit."

The bitter legal battle rages on, with the next critical showdown set for November 25 in the Spanish capital.