In Madrid, where disputes over the direction of Spanish football regularly spill beyond the pitch, Real Madrid have escalated their confrontation with Javier Tebas by demanding that he resign from both of his senior institutional roles.
Key takeaways
- Real Madrid have called for Javier Tebas to step down as LaLiga president and vice-president of the Spanish Football Federation.
- The club reacted after Tebas likened Real Madrid’s communication methods to those used by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister.
- Madrid described the comparison as gravely offensive, even though Tebas said he was not referring to Nazi ideology.
- The club said it had approached UEFA directly over the Negreira case, seeking a full examination of Barcelona’s payments to a former refereeing official.
- Real Madrid also demanded broad reform of refereeing and federation governance structures.
A dispute over institutional neutrality
Real Madrid said Tebas’s remarks were unacceptable given that he holds two positions of major authority in the Spanish game. The club argued that invoking the propaganda machinery of the Nazi regime to criticise Madrid, its board and its in-house television channel crossed an institutional and moral line.
Tebas had pointed to Real Madrid TV as part of the communication strategy he was criticising. The broadcaster, which was directly named in his comments, presented the club’s statement as Madrid’s response to Tebas’s latest “outburst”.
Madrid said Tebas’s clarification that he did not mean Nazi ideology did not lessen what it called the deeply insulting nature of the analogy. It characterised the episode as another in a series of attacks by the LaLiga president on the club, its president and its media platforms.
The club also rejected any attempt to hold it responsible for questions, reports or opinions published by journalists who are not connected to Real Madrid. It said Tebas had used material produced by third parties as a route to direct criticism at the club.
Negreira case at the centre of the row
Madrid placed particular emphasis on the Negreira case, saying Tebas had used his comments to cast doubt on what the club considers its legitimate actions, including the coverage carried by Real Madrid TV.
The club said that, in its view, neither LaLiga nor the Spanish Football Federation had provided an adequate response to the seriousness of the case. It therefore said it had gone straight to UEFA to request a complete investigation into the payments made over a number of years by Barcelona to the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees.
Real Madrid asked for measures capable of safeguarding competition integrity and called for an extensive overhaul of the refereeing system. Its demands also cover federation governance, administration, oversight and disciplinary bodies, with renewal of people who held positions of responsibility during the relevant period.
The club said it was especially striking that Tebas, as LaLiga president and federation vice-president within the body that includes the refereeing committee, was directing his efforts towards discrediting Madrid rather than pursuing clarification and reform.
Madrid said Tebas’s repeated conduct showed a lack of neutrality, respect and impartiality incompatible with his offices. It maintained that such behaviour would not be acceptable in a European sporting institution founded on integrity and institutional neutrality, and concluded that he should immediately leave both posts.
The club said it would continue to defend its reputation and rights while pressing for full clarification of the Negreira case and what it calls the regeneration of Spanish football.
