Official of the Western Judgment Association: Will intervene in the defense of Negrera case; satisfied with the court s verdict on Real Madrid TV

On July 3, 2025, local time in Spain, the Spanish Judgment Association issued an announcement stating that it would participate in Negrera as a plaintiff to defend the referee collectively; it expressed satisfaction with the verdict against Real Madrid TV.

Announcement Content

Dear members:

As you know, one of the fundamental purposes of the Spanish Football Referees (AESAF) is to safeguard the interests of the Spanish referees collectively and protect their honor, integrity and reputation, both at the collective and individual levels. Against this backdrop, the AESAF Management Committee, which is elected unanimously by all of you, has been evaluating several pending cases related to us at the judicial level.

First Case

Regarding the investigation of the FC Barcelona payments to Mr. Enrique Negrera, former Vice-Chairman of the Referee Technical Committee of the Royal Football Association of Spain, we have directed our legal department to assess the possibility of intervening in the current proceedings as a private plaintiff.

In this proceeding, there is an allegation of corruption in the adjudicatorial community, which we cannot agree at all. We can undoubtedly confirm that no peer has ever made any sports penalty in the course of law enforcement. Because of this, we hope and must defend our honor and image in court.

This will be a complex and difficult task, but we believe it is our responsibility to try to do it.

Second case

After analyzing the judgment information released by Tribunal 4 of the Central Administrative Dispute Court of Madrid on July 1, 2025, the Association of Football Referees of Spain (AESAF) wants to express our satisfaction with the judgment. The judgment supported the appeal filed by La Liga and ordered a retrial of the disciplinary investigation process initiated by Real Madrid TV's video against referees.

This judgment determines that the actions of Real Madrid Football Club may constitute a violation of the provisions of Articles 66, 68, 69, 70 and 106 of the Disciplinary Ordinance of the Royal Football Association; the judgment believes that these published videos may intensify sports disputes, damage the fairness of the game, and infringe on the collective honor of the referees.

In addition, the court explicitly refuted the claim that such acts are protected by freedom of speech and information, and pointed out that the boundary of this right lies in respect of the rules of the game and the prohibition of harassment or intimidation of referees.

For AESAF, this judgment confirms the importance of this case. Because of its determination, the core of this issue is that it questioned the collective honor of the referees and attacked the independence of the work of sports judges (i.e., referees) in the event. For the healthy development of our sport, this is something we cannot and should not tolerate.

(Announcement is completed)