Barcelona Takes Legal Action Against Florentino Pérez Over Defamatory Comments

The management of FC Barcelona has initiated a lawsuit against the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, following a series of disparaging remarks made by the latter against the Catalan club. Pérez had alleged that Barcelona had unfairly won titles with the assistance of referees, referencing the Negreira case. In response, Barcelona has filed a mandatory request for reconciliation, as stipulated in Article 205 of the Spanish Penal Code, citing defamation. According to a statement released by the club, the lawsuit aims to compel Pérez to retract his statements, which Barcelona deems false and slanderous. The statement from Barcelona reads: 'FC Barcelona reports that today it has filed the required conciliation request prior to filing a lawsuit for the crime of slander under Article 205 of the Penal Code against the President of Real Madrid, Mr. Florentino Perez, as a result of the statements made by him at the press conference on May 12 and in an interview with a media outlet the following day.' Pérez had previously downplayed the possibility of a lawsuit, stating, 'Barça would do well to sue me. If they think they should, let them do it.' However, Barcelona remains resolute in its pursuit of justice, insisting that Pérez's comments have caused harm to the club's reputation and image.