Real Madrid rebuke Javier Tebas over response to refereeing conspiracy claims

Real Madrid have issued a statement criticising La Liga president Javier Tebas after he rejected claims that referees were conspiring against the club. According to BBC Sport, the exchange followed manager Jose Mourinho's complaints about officiating in Real's 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid last week, when he argued that two opposing players should have been sent off.

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Tebas made his remarks on social media in response to an article in the Spanish press alleging a conspiracy against Real. He dismissed the suggestion that officials were being directed against the club and argued that blaming referees diverted attention from problems in the team's performances during the opening matches of the season.

Real's statement challenged both the substance of Tebas' intervention and his use of the league presidency to criticise a member club. The club accused him of repeatedly seeking to undermine its reputation through his personal platforms and said such conduct harmed the standing of La Liga and Spanish football internationally. It also argued that neutrality was a basic responsibility of his position.

The club framed the dispute as a question of how the league should be led. Its statement said the president's role was to serve the clubs that make up the competition, rather than behave as its owner. Real called for leadership capable of developing Spanish professional football and said the clubs needed their interests to be represented honestly.

Mourinho had brought printed screenshots to his post-match news conference after the Atletico defeat to support his criticism of the officials. He claimed two first-half incidents warranted red cards for Atletico and contrasted that with Real having to play a man down after defender Dean Huijsen was dismissed. Those assessments were Mourinho's claims about the decisions, not findings reported by the league.

BBC Sport reported that Real were fourth in La Liga, six points behind leaders Barcelona, who had won their opening seven league matches for 21 points. The latest disagreement follows earlier clashes between Tebas and Real, including their differences over the proposed European Super League in 2021 and the club's formal complaint to the Spanish football federation about refereeing in 2025.