A year ago, Florentino Perez was calling for calm. "I'm not going to get angry with Barcelona. Real Madrid and Barcelona have to help each other," he said at the time in the Assembly. Today, the tone is different and the distance is also different. The president of Real Madrid broke any semblance of institutional courtesy by reopening the 'Negreira case' with unprecedented forcefulness in this forum.

"It is not normal for Barcelona to have paid the vice-president of the referees more than 8 million euros for at least 17 years, whatever the reason," Florentino told the members. And he repeated it twice to underline its seriousness: "I repeat: whatever the reason, it is not normal". He recalled that Enriquez Negreira held "a key position in the refereeing hierarchy", being responsible for communicating the promotion and relegation of referees. "A period that coincides, coincidentally, with Barcelona's best sporting results in our country," he concluded.

That part of the speech was accompanied by several graphics, including the comparison between the two clubs in terms of the balance of expulsions. "Real Madrid had a net balance, in 2021, of two expulsions. And Barcelona, 61 expulsions. They are no less than 59 difference. However, in that same time, the balance is almost identicalin Europe:+12 for Barca and +13 for Madrid," said Florentino. A fact that also took the continental level with other leagues: "Bayern and Dortmund have the same balance and the major leagues, too. The balance of expulsions during the Negreira era of Barcelona was +49 and that of Real Madrid, -1. Draw your own conclusions..."

From there, the president took the speech to an even harsher level. "Real Madrid is the only one that has appeared in court. Four presidents have maintained million-dollar payments for 17 years to the vice-president of the referees," he said, raising the pulse. He also lashed out at the stance of the CTA president: "Fran Soto has asked that we turn the page and forget about the 'Negreira case'. Who is going to forget it?". And he focused on the continuity of many of the referees involved: "The reality is that they are still there. It is a situation that prevents them from acting with neutrality."

Florentino even resorted to a recent episode to show the tension that, according to him, still persists in the refereeing establishment: "How is it possible that, before the Copa del Rey final, the referee of the match said that the referees were going to take measures against our club? Before a Copa del Rey final? He should have been removed and no action was taken," he said.

The president completed his criticism by pointing to LaLiga's role in episodes related to Barca and the match that was to be played in Miami. "Not even their captain, Frenkie de Jong, thinks it's normal," he said of the attempt to take an official match to Miami. "Nor is it normal for LaLiga to support two teams, Barcelona and Villarreal, who receive additional financial incentives for playing in Miami. And yet we have to listen to Mr Tebas try to compare this with the NFL."