Real Madrid have called for Javier Tebas to be fired as LaLiga president over inflammatory remarks

Real Madrid have called for Javier Tebas to be sacked as LaLiga president after the league boss criticized the club’s complaints about refereeing in Sunday’s Madrid derby. Tebas hit back at Real’s criticism of officials on social media, rejecting claims of bias against the club and accusing them of using refereeing disputes to distract from their performances.

He also called Real Madrid TV “regime TV” and wrote: “When it’s not Negreira, it’s the referee. Enough of the fog! No one with a modicum of logic believes the usual excuses anymore.” Real responded with a strong statement on Tuesday, accusing Tebas of using his position to attack the club.

“Real Madrid finds it unacceptable that the president of the Spanish league association uses his institutional position to continue to diminish Real Madrid and attack it in the way he does in all his interventions,” the club said. “It is extremely worrying that the person responsible for representing and protecting the interests of all La Liga clubs continues his repeated preoccupation with Real Madrid and makes our club a constant target of his public attacks.”

Real also criticized Tebas for commenting on an article written by an independent journalist before turning his remarks into an attack on the club and its sporting strategy. “His recent interventions are particularly serious and astonishing and unbecoming of an official who bears his responsibility,” Real said, calling his actions “absolutely irresponsible.”

The club then accused Tebas of using his personal social media accounts to damage Real Madrid’s reputation instead of helping restore trust in the league’s institutions.

“It is astonishing that the president of La Liga devotes his time and his personal accounts to constant attempts to publicly tarnish the image of Real Madrid, instead of contributing from the responsibility of his position to strengthen confidence in the institutions that are supposed to guarantee the neutrality of the competition,” the club said.

Real’s statement ended with a clear call for change at the head of LaLiga. “In light of this inappropriate behavior that has persisted over time, we believe that professional football in Spain is in urgent need of an official capable of managing it and developing it to its full potential while respecting the fundamental duty of neutrality,” the club said.

“We need someone who understands the nature of his function, because the president of La Liga is not the owner of the competition, but rather an official who runs it at the service of the clubs that make it up and entrusts him with its management. We need someone who fulfills this task honestly.”

REAL MADRID’S DERBY COMPLAINTS

The last row follows Defeat of Real Madrid 2:1 with Atlético Madrid on Sunday. Real’s website described the match as “Derby refereed by terrible referee”. The club were particularly unhappy that Atlético defender Cristian Romero was not sent off for a stamp on Jude Bellingham.

They also complained about Lee Kang-in’s challenge on Federico Valverde. Real manager Jose Mourinho has criticized referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias and those involved in his appointment. He said Real could win the title “if they let us compete on a level playing field”.

Tebas rejected the suggestion of a conspiracy against Real Madrid. “To claim that the referees were told to go against Real Madrid lives in another galaxy,” he said on social media.

“It’s more convenient to point to conspiracies than to explain what’s happening on the field.”

Real are currently fourth in LaLiga, six points behind leaders Barcelona after seven games. Tebas has been president of LaLiga since 2013. He was re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in December 2023, with his current mandate running until 2027.

His relationship with Real Madrid has been strained for years. The club and LaLiga have also clashed in court over the league’s decisions.

Real challenged LaLiga’s 2022 decision to exclude the club from the control body responsible for managing the competition’s audiovisual rights. The Spanish Supreme Court ruled in favor of Real Madrid in June.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

22 Sep 2026 22:27 IST