Enríquez Negreira had some run-ins with Real Madrid

José María Enríquez Negreira (Barcelona, ​​1945) received close to 1.4 million euros in consideration from Barcelona for a “technical advice” service that is being investigated as an alleged crime of corruption between individuals since, during the time that this business relationship took place, Negreira was vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees. Before, Enríquez Negreira made his debut as a referee in the First Division in 1979. Between 1977 and 1979 he had combined matches in Second and Second B. At the age of 34, he made the leap to the top flight where he would chain thirteen seasons before ending his arbitration career in the Second Division in the 91-92 campaign, when he was 46 years old.

In total, as a professional referee, he directed 173 games with 83 local victories, 48 ​​draws and 42 visitors. He maintained an average of 3.23 yellow cards per game and 0.37 red ones. From the Catalan school, the referee, who over the years would be hired by Barcelona, He was involved in 36 matches for Real Madrid, the fierce Barça rival, with a record of 21 white victories, 4 draws and 11 defeats.

Negreira starred in some controversial clashes with Real Madrid. The first came in 1981. Sabido, a white defender, was sent off in the 3-1 defeat at Atocha on matchday 27 of the 80-81 season. A match that was vital for the San Sebastian team to win the league title, level on points with Real Madrid. It was the seventh game in which he had met with the white team and the first defeat. He was also in charge of delivering justice in Atlético’s historic 4-0 victory at the Bernabéu on matchday 10 of the 87-88 campaign. Real Madrid played with one less due to the expulsion of Jankovic in the 38th minute with 0-1 on the scoreboard. The Balkan player insulted him in Spanish, as Negreira himself explained at the time. The match changed as a result of the incident and it got so heated that a group of ultras from Madrid tried to storm the locker room and the Police had to intervene to prevent the attack by the violent. He also sent off Ruggeri, Real Madrid’s Argentine central defender, in the white victory over Atlético 3-1 in 1990. He did it in the 84th minute, with the game already decided.

In 1980, he had also sent off Del Bosque for a double yellow card at 72′ when Madrid beat Real 1-0, a result that ended the game. Another white player, Juanito, was sent off by Negreira in 1982, in the first leg of the Super Cup, when the result was 0-0. Finally, Real Madrid would end up winning the match with a goal from Metgod. There was controversy in the second leg of the 1984 Cup semifinal, when the Catalan referee, with the score 0-1 in favor of Real Madrid, sent off San José with a direct red card for throwing an apple into the stands. The tie went to penalties and Athletic Club passed.

In 1991, Negreira sent off two Real Madrid players, Sanchís and Maqueda, in another historic 3-0 win for Atlético at the Bernabéu. The result was already 0-2 when Sanchís was sent off at minute 50 for an elbow to Juan Carlos and it was 0-3 at minute 89 when Maqueda saw the way to the changing rooms. In addition, Hugo Sánchez had missed a penalty in favor of Real Madrid in minute 66. The white team complained about Negreira’s performance. They demanded a penalty from Tomás against Butragueño after ten minutes.

“He precipitated the expulsion of Sanchís,” said Di Stéfano, the white coach in that game. Negreira explained his performance: “It was a very aggressive match; I saw very clearly the play in which Sanchís nudged Juan Carlos, the red was mandatory”. The rojiblancos, for their part, demanded a red card from Míchel for a very strong tackle on Pizo Gómez, which was not even penalized as a card. “I didn’t see it, that’s why I didn’t sanction the offender,” he explained about it. According to the AS chronicle that day, Negreira, “including errors, did not influence the result.” Buyo’s failures did mark the clash.