Barcelona was charged with sporting corruption on Friday.
The Catalan giants were accused of paying money to the vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
The club allegedly paid €7m between 2001 and 2018 in return for favourable refereeing decisions.
Former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell have also been charged alongside a notable few.
Their arch-rivals Real Madrid have released a statement explaining they will support the corruption charges.
“In their meeting held today, the Real Madrid C. F. Board of Directors have inspected the serious accusations brought by the Barcelona Prosecution Service against F. C. Barcelona, two of its former presidents, Josep María Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and executives Albert Soler and Óscar Grau, on the basis of alleged offenses of corruption in sports, among others, all related to the relationship the club maintained with the former Vice-President of the Technical Referees’ Committee (CTA), José María Enríquez Negreira,” the statement read.
“Real Madrid wishes to express its utmost concern regarding the gravity of the facts and reiterates its confidence in the legal system. The club has agreed that, in defence of its legitimate rights, it will appear at the trial when the judge opens it up to the affected parties.”
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