RFEF accuse one referee of not wanting to collaborate over Negreira Case

The RFEF made a statement on the 'Negreira case' on Thursday. Andreu Camps, general secretary of the RFEF, gave a press conference today accompanied by Luis Medina Cantalejo, president of the CTA.

Camps gave a long speech in which he explained the actions carried out by the RFEF. Of these, he highlighted the revelation of a referee's non-collaboration with the internal investigation: "I have been informed that a referee has not contributed to the internal investigation. He did not provide the information requested, not responding within the two deadlines granted".

"It is true that Enríquez Negreira sent three burofaxes after his dismissal alleging that he had been dismissed in an irregular manner and requesting financial compensation in return. These faxes were sent between July and November 2019," he added.

The federation official also indicated that "the RFEF's integrity department began investigating the case after it was made public. The Federation's lawyers have contacted the Prosecutor's Office in Barcelona. The information we have at the moment is not from a judicial investigation".

"With the election of Luis Rubiales in 2018, the Federation kicked out the established refereeing establishment and renewed the refereeing leadership, including Enríquez Negreira," Camps said.

"A request was made to FC Barcelona and the CTA on several aspects. FCB responded and communicated that they would transmit more information when available. The Technical Committee of Referees was subsequently requested to provide information in relation to Enriquez Negreira's son," he said.

"I want to express the RFEF's absolute confidence in the entire refereeing community. No action that could be accredited should cast doubt on the collective and its honesty. The federation considers that the corruption of a few politicians does not make the political class a corrupt class," said Camps, who added that "if someone's wrongdoing is proven, we refuse to let it affect the entire refereeing collective".

"Payments to Mr. Enríquez Negreira's son have been confirmed. These amounts correspond to different invoices duly presented and correspond to services rendered. They range from a minimum of 250 euros to around 13,000 euros," he said.

Camps also indicated that "The company Dansil 95, owned by Enríquez Negreira, invoiced some amounts to the RFEF since 1999. We have verified if this invoicing was for services rendered. The answer has been affirmative. The RFEF understands that the investigation should be carried out by other entities with legal capacity, such as the Tax Agency or the Public Prosecutor's Office. We are at their disposal to collaborate. We have learned that it was the Tax Agency that filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office to initiate an investigation," said the General Secretary.