Tebas Fires Back at Real Madrid: ‘Respect for All. Subordination to None’

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has responded to Real Madrid’s latest statement, escalating an increasingly public dispute between the Spanish league chief and the club over refereeing, neutrality and the running of the competition.

Real Madrid had accused Tebas of repeatedly using his institutional position to attack the club and questioned whether he could represent all LaLiga clubs impartially. The club also called for leadership capable of generating greater confidence in the neutrality of Spanish football.

Tebas has now rejected those criticisms, arguing that being independent does not mean remaining silent when he believes the competition’s interests are being challenged.

The LaLiga president said he agreed with one point from Real Madrid’s statement: “The president of LaLiga is not the owner of the competition. The president of Real Madrid isn't either.”

However, Tebas argued that representing all clubs means defending equality and equity across the league, including when Real Madrid makes claims about the value of LaLiga without the club or suggests that refereeing decisions are damaging “the business that feeds them.”

He also pushed back against Real Madrid’s description of the journalist whose comments he had responded to as “independent.” According to Tebas, the narrative surrounding refereeing bias against Real Madrid has been repeatedly promoted through Real Madrid TV and other outlets associated with the club.

The central disagreement remains refereeing. Real Madrid has repeatedly raised concerns about decisions it believes have gone against the club, while Tebas has rejected the suggestion that referees are directed against Madrid. Earlier this week, he said he understood the club’s complaints but disagreed with the way they had been expressed.

Tebas argued that criticising individual refereeing decisions is legitimate, but treating every decision against Real Madrid as evidence of persecution is different.

He also rejected what he sees as a distinction between neutrality and independence.

“Independence requires deciding with one's own judgment, without pressures or subordinations, applying the same rules to everyone and defending the common interest,” Tebas said.

The LaLiga president maintained that defending the interests of the competition does not mean adopting the position of any individual club, regardless of its stature.

His closing message was unequivocal: “Defending a club's interests doesn't mean assuming its discourse. And representing everyone doesn't mean obeying the most powerful either.”

Tebas concluded:

“I'm neither the owner of LaLiga nor will I manage it as if it belonged to a single club. Respect for all. Subordination to none.”

The exchange marks another chapter in the long-running tension between Real Madrid and LaLiga’s leadership, with both sides now publicly challenging each other over the principles of neutrality, institutional responsibility and the treatment of refereeing controversies.