Real Madrid Demands New La Liga President After Tebas Refereeing Spat

Real Madrid says Javier Tebas' remarks on its refereeing complaints were intolerable and called for new leadership of the Spanish league.

Real Madrid has called for a change at the top of the Spanish league, saying comments made by La Liga president Javier Tebas about the club were intolerable. The club issued a statement after Tebas criticized Madrid for going after the match officials from its 2-1 derby defeat at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

In its statement, Madrid said Spanish soccer urgently needs a leader who can run the competition with neutrality, arguing that the league president serves the clubs rather than owns the competition. The club also accused Tebas of using his institutional position to repeatedly discredit Real Madrid and of damaging the image of Spanish soccer worldwide.

Tebas responded on X, saying Madrid always finds an excuse to complain and that claims of referees targeting the club amount to living in another galaxy. He said such talk serves as cover for shortcomings he described as obvious in the season's opening matches.

The row began after Madrid coach José Mourinho brought photos to his post-match news conference on Sunday, arguing that Atletico players escaped two clear red cards. He then spent several minutes describing strange decisions against his team this season and in past years. Atletico responded on Monday with a social media post calling for an end to refereeing harassment, attaching a video showing an image of Mourinho emerging from a printer.

The loss to Atletico left Real Madrid fourth in the league table after seven rounds, six points behind leaders Barcelona. Madrid and Tebas have clashed repeatedly on issues in Spanish and European soccer.