Spain's Supreme Court rejects Real Madrid's appeal over Bernabéu concert licences, sending case back to Madrid court
The Spanish Supreme Court has refused to hear Real Madrid's appeal against a ruling that forces a Madrid court to examine whether the renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium has the proper licences to host concerts.
Supreme Court rejection
The Spanish Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) has refused to admit an appeal filed by Real Madrid CF against a November 2025 ruling from the Madrid High Court (TSJM). The decision, issued on 10 June 2026 by the First Section of the Administrative Litigation Chamber, means the case will return to a lower Madrid court to determine whether the club's urban planning permissions and licences actually allow concerts at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The court found the club's appeal lacked sufficient legal grounding and did not demonstrate the required "objective cassational interest" needed for the Supreme Court to establish jurisprudence. The ruling also ordered Real Madrid to pay legal costs capped at 2,000 euros plus VAT to the neighbourhood association.
The controversy presents a markedly casuistic character, linked to the specific circumstances of the case, and the appeal sought to obtain a particular pronouncement, something incompatible with the purpose of the cassation appeal, oriented towards the formation of jurisprudence of general interest.
The neighbourhood dispute
The legal battle began when the Asociación Vecinal de Perjudicados por el Bernabéu (Neighbourhood Association of Those Affected by the Bernabéu) asked Madrid City Council to declare that the Special Plan for urban improvement of the stadium and the various licences granted to Real Madrid during its renovation did not cover the hosting of musical concerts.
When the council did not respond substantively, the association filed an administrative appeal. The Administrative Court number 31 of Madrid initially rejected it in June 2025, arguing the council had already replied through its Activities Agency by stating that the authority to authorise such extraordinary events belonged to the Community of Madrid, not the city.
The TSJM ruling
The neighbourhood association appealed, and on 24 November 2025 the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the Madrid High Court ruled in their favour. The TSJM found that the lower court should have admitted the case and examined its substance, rather than dismissing it as non-appealable.
That ruling reactivated a case that had been shelved at first instance and opened the door to examining whether the stadium's urban planning framework and licences genuinely permit concerts.
What happens next
With the Supreme Court's rejection now final, the proceedings return to Administrative Court number 31 of Madrid. That court must now rule on the presumed rejection of the neighbourhood association's original consultation — effectively deciding whether the Bernabéu's current licences and planning permissions allow concerts or not.
The decision also has implications for Madrid City Council, which the neighbours had originally petitioned. The council had pointed to the regional government as the competent authority, but the TSJM ruling requires the judicial process to examine the substance of the licensing question.
- Administrative Court number 31 of Madrid rejects the neighbourhood association's appeal, deeming it non-appealable.
- Madrid High Court (TSJM) rules in favour of the neighbours, ordering the lower court to examine the substance of the case.
- Supreme Court rejects Real Madrid's cassation appeal, sending the case back to Administrative Court number 31.
Broader context
The case comes shortly after Florentino Pérez's re-election as Real Madrid president. The renovated Bernabéu, with its retractable pitch and roof, was designed in part to host non-football events including major concerts, but noise complaints and licensing questions from nearby residents have shadowed that ambition since the first events were held roughly two years ago.
