Real Madrid have said La Liga president Javier Tebas should be replaced by “a leader capable of managing” the competition “with the fundamental duty of neutrality”.
Tebas, who was appointed in 2013, claimed Madrid were “living in another galaxy” after the club and manager Jose Mourinho criticised referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias, Video Assistant Referee official Daniel Trujillo Suarez and the standard of officiating in Spain following their 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
In a statement hours after Tebas’ remarks on social media, Madrid accused the 64-year-old of being “obsessively focused” on them and “turning our club into the constant target of his public attacks”.
Real Madrid: Full statement on Javier Tebas
“Our club considers it intolerable that the president of La Liga uses his institutional position to continue discrediting and attacking Real Madrid in the manner he does during each of his public appearances,” said Madrid.
“It is very concerning that someone responsible for representing and protecting the interests of all La Liga clubs remains obsessively focused on Real Madrid, turning our club into the constant target of his public attacks.
“His latest remarks are especially serious and incomprehensible, unbecoming of a responsible executive, as they are based on an article by an independent journalist in a digital publication.
“However, he reacts against our club, even going so far as to evaluate our sporting strategy, which is utterly inappropriate and irresponsible.
“It is entirely surprising that the president of LaLiga dedicates his time and personal platforms to consistently attempting to discredit Real Madrid publicly, rather than contributing, as his position demands, to fostering trust in the institutions that are supposed to ensure the impartiality of the competition.
“By doing so, he continues to damage the image of our competition and Spanish football worldwide.
“Given this inappropriate and persistent behavior, we believe that the professional football competition in Spain urgently needs a leader capable of managing it and realising its full potential with the fundamental duty of neutrality.
“It requires someone who understands the nature of their role, as the president of LaLiga is not the owner of the competition but a manager serving the clubs that comprise it and entrust him with its leadership.
“The clubs need someone who serves this mission with honesty.”
What did Javier Tebas say about Real Madrid?
“Claiming that referees are directed against Real Madrid is living in another galaxy,” Tebas wrote, also referencing the two defeats Madrid have suffered across their past three matches, leaving them six points behind leaders Barcelona after seven league games of Mourinho’s second spell in charge.
“That narrative serves as an excuse to cover up other shortcomings that are plain to see in these first matches of the season.
“It’s more comfortable to point to a conspiracy than to explain what’s happening on the pitch.”
Atletico vs Real Madrid: Mourinho criticises Arias
After holding up photos of challenges between Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde and Atleti’s Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in, Mourinho said he had not reviewed Dean Huijsen’s second-half red card for pulling back Giuliano Simeone, which resulted in Alejandro Grimaldo scoring a penalty before Jonathan David added the hosts’ second to move 2-0 ahead..
Mourinho alleged that the circumstances surrounding the referee’s appointment had been wrong and suggested the VAR official had a history of poor decisions against Madrid.
Arias is in his seventh season as a Liga official and is the first from Madrid to have overseen the fixture, according to Marca. The outlet, who named him as their best referee of the 2021/22 season, said he is a PE teacher.
What Jose Mourinho said about referees after Atleti vs Madrid
“It was all very strange,” Mourinho said. “The first thing is that a week before the match, it was already known who the referee would be when, as I’ve been told, it should be announced 24 hours before.
“A week before, it was already known who the referee was. Then, it’s a 41-year-old referee who isn’t even international, and it’s not because he’s a great referee.
“The poor guy came here and couldn’t handle the pressure, which I call the pressure of the ’80s – something you rarely see today.
“Then there’s Mr Trujillo, who was on VAR… he has a very complete history as a VAR in Real Madrid matches.
“Last season alone, there was the Real Sociedad match in the Copa del Rey, and then there [were games against] Osasuna and Girona.
“This is a VAR with a lot of history. This combination: a poor referee who has only officiated small games and a VAR official with a long history.
“Congratulations to the referee appointment committee.”
Atletico vs Real Madrid: Mourinho wants ‘peace’
“If they leave us alone, in peace and let us compete on equal terms with everyone, there’s still a long way to go,” Mourinho said of his complaints in the context of a potential title challenge.
“I don’t want to go too far and say this was prepared. I don’t want to think that. I want to think they simply made mistakes. Just as a coach or a player can make mistakes, I want to think the referee committee made mistakes.
“Poor people – they made mistakes, sending someone who’s 41 years old and has never been in a situation like this, alongside someone else with a very rich history against Real Madrid.”
Atletico Madrid: Jose Mourinho ‘referee harassment’
Having moved a point ahead of Madrid, Atleti were quick to poke fun at their rivals with a series of tweets on X.
The first was a video showing a sheet of paper coming out of a printer with the words #StopAcosoArbitralYA, meaning “stop referee harassment now”.
A second post showed a picture of Mourinho at the news conference with the same message.
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