Tebas responds to Real Madrid: ‘Respect for everyone, subordination to no one’

Javier Tebas responded on social media to Real Madrid’s strongly worded statement by publishing a lengthy reply. The LaLiga president, responding to the club chaired by Florentino Pérez, set out his position: “Respect for everyone, subordination to no one.”

According to Tebas, the Madrid statement, which described his stance as “intolerable”, called among other things for him to be replaced at the head of the organisation. He believes that position damages LaLiga’s image through its “outbursts”. “I fully agree with one sentence: the LaLiga president does not own the competition. Neither does the Real Madrid president,” he wrote.

Tebas says representing all clubs requires defending equality and fairness between them. He specifically points to claims that LaLiga would be worth nothing without Real Madrid and that referees harm “the business that feeds them”. According to him, those statements prompted his response, while the club’s statement does not devote a word to them.

The LaLiga president also criticises Real Madrid for taking refuge in the claim that he had responded to an “independent” journalist. He believes neither the narrative nor the strategy of deflecting attention from other problems is new. Tebas says this discourse has been promoted for years by Real Madrid TV and by club spokespersons, through repeated claims of a rigged Liga, and rejects its presentation as an outside opinion.

On Madrid’s demand to build confidence in the competition’s impartiality, Tebas rejects the narrative that referees are acting against Real Madrid. He considers it legitimate to criticise a refereeing decision, but distinguishes that from turning every setback into proof of persecution. He questions the impact of such a discourse on trust and on the image of Spanish football.

Finally, Tebas believes the club is confusing neutrality with independence. In his view, independence means making decisions on one’s own judgement, without pressure or subordination, applying the same rules to everyone and defending the common interest, even when those positions displease Real Madrid. He adds that defending a club’s interests does not mean adopting its discourse, just as representing all clubs does not mean obeying the most powerful one.