Barcelona’s legal battle with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is moving into its next stage, with a Madrid court now setting a date for the conciliation hearing requested by the Catalan club.
According to SPORT, both parties have been summoned to appear at 9:40 a.m. on November 25 in the courtroom of Courts 1 and 2 of Madrid.
The hearing concerns the conciliation claim Barcelona filed against the Real Madrid president following comments he made about the Catalan club and the Negreira case.
The Catalan side subsequently began examining its legal options before deciding to initiate the conciliation process.
The dispute has been developing for several months and is now formally progressing through the Spanish courts.
Barcelona took legal action after Perez’s accusations
The origins of the case go back to comments made by Perez during a press conference back in May.
Barcelona have already filed a lawsuit against Florentino Perez’s statement (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)
Notably, the Real Madrid president’s statements went beyond criticism of the club and amounted to allegations that Barça had influenced referees.
Perez also referred to Barcelona’s historical success against Real Madrid, claiming that titles had been taken from the capital club with the help of referees.
The comments came amid the continuing fallout from the Negreira case, which has remained one of the most controversial issues surrounding Spanish football.
Barcelona initially indicated that its legal department would study the appropriate response.
The club’s board, chaired at the time by Rafa Yuste, subsequently decided on June 12 to move forward with a formal conciliation claim against Perez.
The legal process was handled by Barcelona’s legal department, headed by Pere Lluis Mellado, before the club officially announced its next step.
Barcelona seeking conciliation before criminal complaint
The relationship between Barcelona and Real Madrid is beyond repair. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
The conciliation procedure is quite significant because it comes before the criminal action Barcelona has indicated it could pursue.
When announcing the move, the club made its position clear in an official statement.
“FC Barcelona hereby announces that today the mandatory conciliation claim has been filed, prior to bringing a criminal complaint for the offence of slander under Article 205 of the Criminal Code against the president of Real Madrid, Mr Florentino Perez, following the statements he made at the press conference on 12 May and in an interview with a media outlet the following day.”
The wording of that statement established the legal route Barcelona intended to follow. Rather than immediately proceeding with the criminal complaint, the club first initiated the mandatory conciliation stage.
The November hearing will therefore be an important point in determining how the dispute develops.