In Madrid, the dispute between LaLiga president Javier Tebas and Real Madrid has moved from social media into Spain’s sporting disciplinary system. The Higher Sports Council (CSD) has asked the Administrative Sports Court (TAD) to examine comments in which Tebas compared the club’s communication methods with propaganda techniques associated with Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister.
A referral over the October post
The CSD submitted its reasoned request on Thursday, acting on its own initiative and within its regulatory powers. The case concerns an X post published by Tebas on 16 October, when the LaLiga chief and Royal Spanish Football Federation vice-president made the comparison in remarks directed at Real Madrid.
- The CSD has referred the matter to the independent TAD for assessment.
- The court must decide whether the comments indicate a possible breach of Article 76.4.b of Spain’s 1990 Sports Law.
- That provision classifies prominent public acts against sporting dignity or decorum as serious offences.
Sporting respect at the centre of the case
In setting out its request, the CSD pointed to TAD doctrine founded on Spanish Supreme Court case law. That interpretation links sporting dignity and decorum to a civilised environment in football and other sports, one dependent on mutual respect among figures holding influential roles.
The council said sporting institutions must protect the values that make competition a space for respect, coexistence and fair play. The TAD, rather than the CSD, will now determine whether Tebas’s language reaches the threshold for disciplinary action.
Potential consequences and Tebas’s response
If a serious infringement were established, Tebas could face disqualification from holding office in a sporting organisation for a period ranging from one month to two years.
Speaking to L’Equipe about the prospect of punishment, Tebas described the possibility as extraordinary. He said it would be extraordinary, while arguing that removal from his post was impossible; in his view, the issue concerned the manner of communication rather than the substance of the matter.
