Real Madrid have demanded the immediate resignation of LaLiga president Javier Tebas and his position as vice-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) following comments in which he compared the club’s communication strategy to propaganda techniques used during Nazi Germany.
In an official statement published on its X account on Friday, the Spanish giants described Tebas’s remarks as “absolutely intolerable and extraordinarily serious”, accusing him of making offensive and institutionally unacceptable comments about the club, its leadership and its television channel.
“Real Madrid CF considers it absolutely intolerable and extraordinarily serious that someone holding two positions of utmost responsibility in Spanish football resorts to a comparison with the propaganda methods of the Nazi regime to discredit our club, its management, and its television,” the statement read.
“The clarification that he is not referring to Nazi ideology does not mitigate the deeply offensive, morally repugnant, and institutionally unworthy nature of his statements,” the club added.
The controversy followed comments by Tebas on social media, where he accused Real Madrid’s leadership of coordinating its public messaging, with Real Madrid TV playing a central role.
Tebas wrote that the club’s management “directs an orchestra of spokespersons and Real Madrid TV leads the singing”.
He argued that the club’s approach involved highlighting favourable incidents, repeatedly airing grievances, fuelling suspicion and identifying supposed enemies. He then drew a comparison with techniques employed by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister.
According to Tebas, these methods included systematic repetition, the construction of an enemy and the subordination of facts to a particular narrative.
However, Tebas stressed that his comparison concerned propaganda techniques rather than Nazi ideology or Real Madrid supporters.
Real Madrid rejected the distinction, describing the remarks as another example of what it called repeated attacks by Tebas against the club, its president and its media outlets.
The club also linked the dispute to the long-running Negreira case, which concerns payments made by Barcelona over several years to companies linked to former vice-president of Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees, José María Enríquez Negreira.
Real Madrid said it was particularly concerned that Tebas’s comments sought to discredit the club’s actions and those of Real Madrid TV in relation to the case.
“It is especially concerning that Tebas uses these statements to question the legitimate actions of Real Madrid and Real Madrid TV in relation to the Negreira case,” the statement said.
The club added that it had approached UEFA directly to seek a comprehensive investigation into the payments made by Barcelona.
“In light of the lack of response to the extraordinary seriousness of the Negreira case by the two institutions where Javier Tebas holds positions of utmost relevance, our club has had to approach UEFA directly to demand a full clarification of the payments made over the years by FC Barcelona,” Real Madrid said.
Beyond demanding Tebas’s resignation, Real Madrid called for a comprehensive overhaul of the refereeing system and relevant football federation structures.
The club argued that his conduct demonstrated “a lack of neutrality, respect, and impartiality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities”, adding that it disqualified him from continuing in his current positions.
“Consequently, Real Madrid demands his immediate resignation as president of LaLiga and vice-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation,” the statement concluded.
