Real Madrid say La Liga needs new leadership after Tebas row

Real Madrid say La Liga needs new leadership after Tebas row Real Madrid have called for Javier Tebas to be replaced as La Liga president after he dismissed the club’s complaints over refereeing in Sunday’s 2-1 derby defeat to Atlético Madrid as belonging to “another galaxy”. The club’s official statement described his conduct as “intolerable” and said Spanish football urgently needs new leadership at the top of the competition. Real Madrid call for La Liga president’s removal The statement followed Tebas’s public response to a pro-Real article addressing what he called conspiracy claims against the club. Real said the use of his institutional position to repeatedly discredit and attack the club had become untenable, and that the league needs “a leader capable of managing it and realising its full potential with the fundamental duty of neutrality” . The derby complaints behind the dispute Real’s own match report was headlined “Terrible refereeing decides the derby” after the loss at the Metropolitano. The club was aggrieved that Atlético’s Cristian Romero avoided a red card for a stamp on Jude Bellingham, and separately raised a challenge by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde – full detail on the disputed calls is covered in the VAR audio breakdown of the derby decisions . José Mourinho confronted referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias during the defeat and criticised those who appointed him, saying his side could win the title if allowed to compete on a level playing field. Real now sit six points behind reigning champions and early leaders Barcelona, and Atlético’s response to the fallout has added another layer to the row. Tebas and Real Madrid exchange accusations The Guardian report that Tebas accused Real-aligned outlets of pushing a familiar storyline. “Here they go again, the mouthpieces and the regime’s television, building the same old narrative – the permanent conspiracy,” said Tebas, who added that Real Madrid are crucial to La Liga but that the competition “belongs to no one”. Real Madrid’s official response Real’s statement called the behaviour inappropriate and persistent, arguing the league president is an administrator serving the clubs rather than an owner of the competition. “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, a stance that sits alongside the club’s long-running scrutiny of officiating detailed in this analysis of Real Madrid TV’s refereeing coverage .