Real Madrid could face trial for alleged environmental offences after a Spanish judge ruled there was sufficient evidence that loud concerts held at the club’s Bernabéu stadium may have broken the law. The Residents’ Association for those Affected by the Bernabéu (AVPB) began legal action against the football club and the city council in 2024, claiming that a series of concerts featuring Taylor Swift, Luis Miguel and Karol G had made their lives a misery.
Judge Mónica Aguirre has indicted the club’s CEO, José Ángel Sánchez, and the Real Madrid subsidiary company that operates the venue. According to legal documents, both will face “abbreviated proceedings” after Aguirre determined there were “indications of the commission of allegedly criminal acts” – namely the environmental offence of noise pollution.
The complaint alleges that the club hired out the stadium to concert promoters despite “knowing that the facility lacked the minimum acoustic insulation necessary to avoid contamination of the stadium’s surroundings and an impact on the rights of its neighbours, with serious danger to their health”. Residents reported frequent headaches, stress, anxiety and depression due to the noise.
Although Real Madrid cancelled or rescheduled all concerts at the arena in September 2024, stating it was working to comply with council noise regulations, the AVPB continued with legal action. Enrique Martínez de Azagra, president of the AVPB, welcomed the judge’s decision, saying the group had evidence of decibel levels “exceeding the zone of health risks” on more than 100 occasions.
