Tebas rejects Real Madrid ‘conspiracy’ claims over refereeing

Javier Tebas has launched a fresh attack on Real Madrid, rejecting claims from within the club and its closely aligned media that the team is being deliberately targeted by referees.

The La Liga president said the continuing focus on officiating was distracting attention from technical problems which had been evident in Real Madrid’s performances during the opening matches of the season.

Responding to recent criticism from Madrid on social media, Tebas criticised what he described as an attempt to create a “permanent conspiracy story”.

“When it is not Negreira, it is the referee, and when it is not that, it is that he is not an international referee,” he wrote, referring to the different explanations offered by the club or people close to it when discussing refereeing decisions.

Tebas said every club in La Liga could have matches overseen by either international or non-international referees. He added that no club had the right to choose its officials or object to a referee simply because that appointment did not match its preferences or expectations.

The league president also addressed Real Madrid’s position within the competition. He acknowledged the club’s major contribution to the history of La Liga and its global appeal, but rejected the idea that the league’s value depended solely on its presence.

“Real Madrid is very important to La Liga, but saying La Liga has no value without it shows contempt for the other clubs, their supporters and their history. The competition is not owned by anyone,” Tebas said.

He was particularly critical of the suggestion that referees were deliberately working against Real Madrid, arguing that the theory lacked logic and was unsupported by evidence of a coordinated policy against the club.

“To claim that referees are directed against Real Madrid is like living in another galaxy,” he said.

Tebas argued that repeatedly discussing alleged bias against Real Madrid provided a way to avoid addressing the team’s more immediate problems, including its performances, results and the management of matches.

“That story works as an excuse to cover up the other shortcomings that are immediately visible in these first matches of the season. It is more comfortable to point to a conspiracy than to explain what is happening on the pitch,” he added.

Concluding his defence of his position, Tebas said refereeing mistakes did not prove the existence of an organised conspiracy against Real Madrid, even if similar errors occurred in more than one match or continued over several years.

“A refereeing mistake does not prove a conspiracy, and repeating it over the years does not make it true,” he said.