With the Clasico drawing closer, the row around Real Madrid has widened beyond the club’s television channel and Spain’s refereeing debate. José Mourinho has now entered the dispute, delivering a sharp response after Javier Tebas compared Real Madrid’s communication methods to propaganda techniques used by the Nazi regime.
The move
Tebas, the president of La Liga and also vice-president of the Spanish Football Federation, criticised Real Madrid’s repeated attacks on referees, particularly those broadcast through Real Madrid TV.
In a post on X on Friday, Tebas said the club’s approach recalled the propaganda mechanisms employed by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister: the repeated delivery of a message, the creation of an enemy and the placing of a preferred narrative ahead of facts.
He later stressed that his reference was aimed at propaganda methods, not Nazi ideology, and was not directed at Real Madrid supporters.
Real Madrid reacted angrily and called for Tebas to leave his positions. The club described it as unacceptable and exceptionally serious that a leading figure in Spanish football had used a comparison involving Nazi propaganda to discredit Real Madrid, its leadership and its television channel.
Mourinho offered no defence of Tebas when asked about the episode on Saturday. “You already know what I think,” the Portuguese coach said. “The only excuse would be if it were a clinical case. Otherwise, there is no justification and no excuse. The fans understand more and more what Real Madrid are up against.”
The French season around it
Kylian Mbappé’s Real Madrid side face Sevilla on Sunday night in the match that closes La Liga’s ninth round. The fixture comes one week before a Clasico already set to carry an even sharper edge after the latest confrontation between the club and the league president.
- Kylian Mbappé — Real Madrid forward and France international
- José Mourinho — Portuguese coach who criticised Javier Tebas
- Javier Tebas — La Liga president and Spanish Football Federation vice-president
