Court Backs Real Madrid Over Bernabéu Concerts

The Third Section of the Provincial Court of Madrid has cleared Real Madrid and one of its top executives of criminal liability in the long-running dispute over noise from concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid said on May 13 that the court fully upheld appeals filed by José Ángel Sánchez Periáñez and Real Madrid Estadio S.L., with the Public Prosecutor’s Office supporting those appeals. (realmadrid.com) The ruling reversed a January 15 order from Investigating Court No. 53 of Madrid that had allowed the case to continue under an abbreviated criminal procedure. The appellate court, according to the club and Spanish media reports, ordered the unconditional dismissal of proceedings against the two appellants. ### Which part of the case did the court actually decide? The May 13 ruling addressed the criminal case opened after complaints over noise from concerts held at Real Madrid’s stadium in 2024. (realmadrid.com) Real Madrid said the court found that neither Sánchez, the club’s general director and board member, nor Real Madrid Estadio S.L. bore criminal responsibility for the concerts staged at the venue. The January 15 order from Investigating Court No. 53 had found indications of possible criminal conduct linked to acoustic pollution and had moved the matter forward under Spain’s abbreviated procedure, according to RTVE. The provincial court reversed that step and ended the criminal process against the club executive and the stadium company, the club said. (realmadrid.com) ### Why did the court point to promoters instead of the club? The Provincial Court said responsibility for complying with decibel limits lay with the promoter companies leasing the stadium because they “promote, organize, develop, and execute” each event, according to Real Madrid’s statement. The court tied that conclusion to Madrid’s municipal ordinance on acoustic and thermal pollution dated February 25, 2011. (realmadrid.com) RTVE, citing the club’s account of the ruling, reported the same allocation of responsibility and said the court also held that a mere breach of a general administrative environmental rule does not by itself justify criminal-law intervention. That distinction was central to the dismissal of the criminal case. (rtve.es) ### What triggered the dispute in the first place? The complaint came from the Neighborhood Association of Those Affected by the Bernabéu and six other residents, Real Madrid said. RTVE reported that the association alleged breaches of municipal sound limits across 18 concerts and events held between April 26 and September 8, 2024. Those shows were part of Real Madrid’s push to turn the renovated Bernabéu into a year-round events venue. (realmadrid.com) Public reporting around the dispute identified major 2024 concerts at the stadium, including Taylor Swift and Karol G performances, as flashpoints in the broader argument over noise in the Chamartín area of Madrid. ### Did the ruling restart concerts at the Bernabéu immediately? A September 13, 2024 Real Madrid statement said the club had decided to provisionally reschedule the calendar of events and concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu while it worked on compliance with municipal regulations. (rtve.es) In that statement, the club said soundproofing and other measures had not been enough to ensure that organizers and promoters could meet all requirements. The court ruling deals with criminal liability, not with every practical or regulatory issue around staging concerts. (realmadrid.com) Real Madrid said on May 13 that it would continue to work with the competent authorities on all necessary matters. ### What comes next for the stadium’s event plans? (billboard.com) Real Madrid’s official Bernabéu site currently lists events and stadium programming, and the club’s main news pages are again highlighting non-football uses of the venue, including an NFL game scheduled for November 8 and other stadium programming in 2026. Those listings show the venue remains central to Real Madrid’s broader event strategy even after the concert dispute. May 13 is the key legal date for this case so far, because that is when the provincial court’s ruling was notified, according to the club. (realmadrid.com) Any return of large-scale concerts at the Bernabéu will depend on the club, event promoters and Madrid authorities meeting the venue’s operating and noise-control requirements. (bernabeu.realmadrid.com) (realmadrid.com)