Real Madrid and Barcelona 'reconcile'

Managers from Real Madrid and Barcelona were summoned to a mediation session on November 25 as a preliminary step in a defamation lawsuit filed by the Catalan club against the president of the Madrid-based club, according to informed sources yesterday. The mediation session will be held before a court in Madrid, following the complaint filed by Barcelona on June 12 against Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, in response to his May comments in which he accused the Catalan club of manipulating referees to obtain favorable decisions. Pérez was referring to the Neguera case, named after the former head of Spain’s refereeing body, who was accused of accepting bribes from Barcelona. This mediation session represents the step preceding a potential defamation lawsuit against the capital city club’s president. In June, Barcelona stated: “The purpose of this request is to force Pérez to retract certain statements, knowing that they are false, offensive, and damaging to the club’s image and reputation.” If mediation fails, “Barcelona will file a complaint on this matter,” it added.