What Does Real Madrid’s Feud With La Liga President Mean for Spanish Soccer?

“Here they go again,” La Liga president Javier Tebas wrote at the beginning of his latest scathing takedown of Real Madrid.

The opening is a perfect reflection of what it feels like to see the president of La Liga repeatedly engage in a public, hostile, tired rivalry with the biggest club in Spain. The growing reception of the longstanding feud is quite like a tired child rolling their eyes at the dinner table when their divorced parents start arguing.

“Here they go again.”

The hatred between the two sides is well-documented. Countless iterations of the exact same fight have unfolded over the years. Real Madrid call La Liga corrupt. Club president Florentino Pérez asserts Tebas is unfit to rule. Real Madrid TV make a compilation of refereeing decisions they believe deliberately went against the team.

Tebas gets in front of a microphone or gets his fingers on a keyboard and retaliates with visceral disdain. He calls Real Madrid crazy, entitled, bored. He accuses Real Madrid of wanting special treatment. He backs his referees to no end and hits out at Pérez along the way.

It’s an endless cycle, one that picked up again after Los Blancos lost 2–1 to Atlético Madrid on Sunday.

Tebas Responds to Real Madrid’s Derby Tirade

Javier Tebas called out Real Madrid yet again. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

A full hour had not even passed after the final whistle sounded at the Metropolitano before Real Madrid put out a statement blaming “terrible” refereeing on their defeat. The club highlighted two moments in the first half—Cristian Romero stomping on Jude Bellingham’s knee and Kang In-lee digging his studs into Federico Valverde’s ankle—it believed should have resulted in red cards.

Neither Atlético Madrid player was sent off, prompting José Mourinho to show up to his postgame press conference with printed out images of both challenges, calling out referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias and the VAR Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez. The manager did not dispute Dean Huijsen’s red card.

Tebas waited two days before he took to social media to bash Real Madrid for “building the same old narrative.” He accused Los Blancos of “living in another galaxy” for their repeated cries of refereeing conspiracy and urged them to “take the blinders off.”

Ironically, the next day, Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees came out and confirmed Lee should have been sent off in the Madrid derby.

Real Madrid Trade Blows With Tebas

Florentino Pérez will never let Tebas have the last word. | Matias Chiofalo/Europa Press/Getty Images

Real Madrid would never let Tebas’s social media rant go without a response. The club soon posted its own statement, calling it “intolerable” and “concerning” that the La Liga president is “obsessed with targeting” Real Madrid.

“It is utterly surprising that the president of La Liga dedicates his time and personal platforms to constantly trying to publicly discredit Real Madrid, instead of contributing, from the responsibility of his position, to fostering trust in the institutions that must ensure the impartiality of the competition,” the club continued.

The 15-time European champions ended their statement by advocating for a new La Liga president.

The pendulum then swung back to Tebas, who issued another takedown on social media. The president insisted “the interests of the competition, of La Liga, must be defended.” He emphasized that representing every club “doesn’t mean obeying the most powerful.”

He ended his post with the following statement: “I’m neither the owner of La Liga nor will I manage it as if it belonged to a single club. Respect for all. Subordination to none.”

The Biggest Loser Is Spanish Soccer

La Liga ball — Soccer is becoming an afterthought in La Liga. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

Perhaps Real Madrid and Tebas’s feud was interesting once upon a time. Seeing the two biggest powers in La Liga trade harsh words and public attacks was like watching a new episode of a viral reality TV show.

But there comes a point when the war of words becomes nothing more than white noise. It’s the same arguments being made over and over again. It’s the same lack of accountability from both sides. It’s the same ... everything.

It turns La Liga into a sideshow, marred by constant conspiracies, controversies and ruthless attacks. People have probably seen Real Madrid TV’s compilations and Tebas’s rants more than league matches in recent years.

“He continues to damage the image of our competition and Spanish football worldwide,” Real Madrid wrote of Tebas.

Yet it’s both sides turning an elite league into a parody. There are legitimate grievances from Real Madrid over refereeing decisions, just like there are legitimate grievances from Tebas about the club overstepping boundaries. But instead of trying to make improvements, all they do is rehash the same issues with no intention to ever move forward.

“Turning every detriment into proof of persecution is something else,” Tebas wrote. “Does that generate trust or damage the image of Spanish football?”

In the end, when both powers of La Liga are arguing like school children and taking attention away from soccer, they are the ones damaging the image of Spanish football.

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