Real Madrid demanded the immediate resignation of La Liga president Javier Tebas on Friday after he compared the methods used by the club's management and television channel to Nazi propaganda techniques, escalating an already bitter dispute between the Spanish football giant and the league's chief.
Tebas wrote on social media Friday that "Real Madrid's management directs an orchestra of mouthpieces and Real Madrid TV leads the singing." His comments came in response to articles by two journalists at the Spanish newspaper El Debate, whom he accused of promoting messages on behalf of the club's management against him and La Liga.
Tebas went on to criticize Real Madrid TV's coverage of refereeing decisions in the club's matches. "Their score is always the same: select the plays that suit them, repeat the grievances, fuel suspicion and point to enemies," he wrote.
He added that the approach resembled propaganda methods employed by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany's propaganda minister, including the systematic repetition of messages and the portrayal of perceived enemies. Tebas stressed that his comparison concerned propaganda techniques, not Nazi ideology or Real Madrid supporters.
(Photo: IMAGO)
Real Madrid responded with an angry statement, describing the use of Nazi propaganda comparisons to discredit the club, its management and its television channel as "intolerable and extraordinarily serious."
The club accused Tebas of repeatedly demonstrating a lack of neutrality and impartiality incompatible with his responsibilities as La Liga president. It demanded that he resign immediately, not only from the league presidency but also from his position as vice president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Tebas, 64, has served as La Liga president since 2013 and was reelected unopposed in 2023 for a term running until 2027.
The confrontation marks the latest escalation in a longstanding feud between Real Madrid and the league president. In September, the club had already called for a new La Liga president after Tebas dismissed its complaints about refereeing decisions as a "smokescreen" intended to conceal the team's shortcomings on the pitch.