Real Madrid have called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to be replaced, claiming he uses his position to “discredit and attack” the club.
This comes after the Spanish league chief dismissed their claims of refereeing bias in last weekend’s Madrid derby as belonging to “another galaxy”.
Real were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but there were several contentious points. The game was largely decided by the red card shown to Dean Huijsen, and the resultant penalty, after he committed a denial of a goal scoring opportunity.
But Madrid felt that Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in committed red card-worthy offences that went unpunished.
After the game Jose Mourinho criticised referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias and the officials responsible for his appointment. He said Madrid could win the title “if they let us compete on a level playing field” and took two printed screenshots of the incidents in question.
On their website, Madrid also headlined the official match report as “A terrible refereeing performance decides the derby”.
The Spanish refereeing committee (CTA) has weighed in on the debate and said Lee Kang-in should have been sent off for his challenge on Valverde, although it said only a yellow card was appropriate for Romero.
A dreadful refereeing performance decides the derby.https://t.co/4bCOqYmg4j
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 20, 2026
Tebas responded on social media to an article supporting Madrid’s position and lashed out against the club.
“Here they go again, the mouthpieces and the regime’s television, building the same old narrative – the permanent conspiracy,” Tebas said.
He added: “Real Madrid are crucial to La Liga. But claiming that ‘La Liga is worth nothing’ without them reveals the disdain for the other clubs, their fans, and their history. The competition belongs to no one.”
Tebas also said: “Claiming that referees are directed against Real Madrid is living in another galaxy.”
The La Liga chief’s reference to “the regime’s television” is Madrid’s use of their official media outlet, Real Madrid TV, to publish claims of refereeing bias against the club. The headline of the match report was a typical example of the kind of narrative they put out, but Real Madrid TV have previously gone as far as publishing a video compilation of numerous decisions they claimed were against them.
This particular incident was before the final of the 2025 Copa del Rey. The video caused referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, the official who was appointed to oversee the final, to cry at the pre-match press conference while responding to the video.
Responding to Tebas’s latest comments, Madrid said they were “intolerable” and accused him of using his position to attack Real Madrid. They called for a new leader who could run La Liga with a “fundamental duty of neutrality”.
Tebas has been La Liga president since 2013 and was re-elected unopposed in 2023. His relationship with Real and president Florentino Perez has been contentious. Besides the complaints over officiating, there have also been disagreements over commercial and governance matters in the league.
Just last season, Madrid were the leading club in Spain fighting Tebas’s plan to play a La Liga match abroad for the first time. The match, which was backed by Barcelona and scheduled to take place in Miami between Barcelona and Villareal, was ultimately cancelled after excessive backlash.
🔒 Locked in. pic.twitter.com/cDFS2KHOUd
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 18, 2026
In their latest statement, Madrid said they considered it “intolerable that the president of La Liga uses his institutional position to continue discrediting and attacking Real Madrid”.
“Given this inappropriate and persistent behaviour, we believe that the professional football competition in Spain urgently needs a leader capable of managing it and realising its full potential with the fundamental duty of neutrality,” the club said.
