Real Madrid have demanded the immediate resignation of Javier Tebas as LaLiga president and vice-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after he compared the club’s media strategy with propaganda techniques used by Nazi Germany.
In an official statement issued on Friday, October 16, the Spanish giants described Tebas’s comments as “absolutely intolerable and extraordinarily serious”, accusing the league chief of demonstrating a lack of neutrality, respect and impartiality.
The controversy erupted after Tebas criticised Real Madrid’s leadership and its television channel, Real Madrid TV, over their coverage of refereeing decisions and complaints about the treatment of the club.
“Their script is always the same: select the plays that suit them, repeat the grievance, feed the suspicion and point fingers at the enemies,” Tebas wrote on social media.
He added that the approach recalled propaganda techniques associated with Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister, while stressing that his comparison concerned the methods rather than Nazi ideology or Real Madrid supporters.
Real Madrid rejected that clarification, arguing that it did not diminish the seriousness or offensive nature of his remarks.
The club also accused Tebas of repeatedly attacking its leadership and media outlets, and criticised what it described as his failure to demonstrate impartiality in his institutional positions.
Real Madrid further linked the dispute to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Negreira case, involving payments by Barcelona to a former senior refereeing official, and called for greater transparency and reform of Spanish football’s refereeing and governance structures.
The latest confrontation deepens the longstanding dispute between Tebas and Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez. Tebas has led LaLiga since 2013 and was re-elected unopposed in 2023 for a term running until 2027.
Real Madrid’s demand does not itself remove Tebas from office, and no resignation has been announced.