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Real Madrid Demands Tebas Resign Over Goebbels Comparison
· Confirmed
In Short: Real Madrid is demanding the immediate resignation of La Liga President Javier Tebas after he compared the club’s management to the propaganda methods used by Nazi Germany’s Joseph Goebbels, according to Al Jazeera (Qatar) and the Independent (Ireland).
Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Tebas criticized Real Madrid TV’s coverage of officiating at matches, while the Independent (Ireland) noted that Tebas accused Real Madrid TV of using a strategy based on repeatedly presenting incidents that favor the club’s narrative, creating a sense of grievance and portraying Madrid as a victim.
Both outlets agree that Tebas wrote on social media that Real Madrid’s management directs an orchestra of mouthpieces and that Real Madrid TV leads the singing, a reference to propaganda techniques.
The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Tebas compared Real Madrid’s communication strategy to that used by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, on his social media channels.
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Diari ARA (Spain) reported that Tebas criticized Real Madrid TV’s coverage of officiating at matches, while Diari ARA noted that Tebas said the journalists “use identical expressions” to those he has previously heard from a high-ranking executive at Valdebebas.
The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Tebas added that the authors in El Debate newspaper were amplifying a message on behalf of Real’s management, in response to articles by two journalists saying he and LaLiga were acting against Real’s interests.
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Onefootball reported that Real Madrid released a statement later on Friday demanding that Tebas resign from his positions as LaLiga chief and vice-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Real Madrid described Tebas’s comments as “absolutely intolerable and extraordinarily serious,” arguing that the comparison was unacceptable given his senior positions in Spanish football.
The Standard (United Kingdom) and the Independent (Ireland) reported that Real Madrid have called for LaLiga president Javier Tebas to immediately resign after he accused the club of employing techniques used by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
The Independent (Ireland) reported that Real Madrid said it was “especially concerning” that Tebas referenced the Negreira case in the X post, while the Standard (United Kingdom) noted that Real Madrid said his clarification that he was not referring to Nazi ideology did not lessen the seriousness of the remarks, which the club described as morally repugnant and inappropriate for someone holding such institutional responsibilities.
The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Tebas subsequently issued a lengthy response rejecting Madrid’s criticism of his conduct and defending his obligation to respond to attacks on LaLiga.
The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Tebas argued that his position demands independence, not passivity in the face of injustice, nor silence in the face of the continuous, excessive, and insulting attacks on LaLiga by Real Madrid TV and its mouthpieces.
The Guardian (United Kingdom) and Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Real Madrid said Tebas’ repeated conduct demonstrates a lack of neutrality, respect, and impartiality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities.
What's confirmed
- “Tebas’ repeated conduct demonstrates a lack of neutrality, respect and impartiality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities,” said Real.
- Tebas wrote earlier on Friday on social media that “Real Madrid’s management directs an orchestra of mouthpieces and Real Madrid TV leads the singing”.
- “Their score is always the same: select the plays that suit them, repeat the grievance, feed the suspicion and point fingers at the enemies,” he wrote.
- “The comparison is with those propaganda techniques, not with an ideology or, of course, with the Madridista fanbase,” added LaLiga’s president.
- On Friday, the Spanish club issued a strong statement against the LaLiga president after he compared, on his social media channels, the communication strategy of Real Madrid and their in-house TV channel (Real Madrid TV) to that used by Joseph Goebbels, who was the minister for propaganda in Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
- Real Madrid have called for LaLiga president Javier Tebas to immediately resign after he accused the club of employing techniques used by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
- “His constant attacks on Real Madrid and those who demand transparency and regeneration constitute, in the opinion of our club, a real scourge for Spanish football.” Real called for his immediate resignation from his LaLiga position and from his vice-presidency of the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
What's still developing
- Last month, Real called for a new LaLiga president in response to Tebas calling their complaints about refereeing decisions ‘a smokescreen’ for their shortcomings on the pitch.
- He also has been critical of Real and its president Florentino Perez in previous years after disagreeing with their plans to join a European Super League in 2021.
- After the Super League project was abandoned, in December 2021 LaLiga announced the "Boost LaLiga" project, which saw LaLiga and its clubs receive almost €2 billion ($2.17bn) from the private equity firm CVC in exchange for an 8.2% share of the league's income from broadcasting and sponsorship rights for the next 50 years.
- "Every day it is more difficult to distinguish your articles from a statement by the Real Madrid management," says Tebas, who also calls them "portaCOCES".
- This morning, in a lengthy message posted on X, the executive launched a scathing attack on the club's channel, Real Madrid TV, comparing its actions to the "propaganda mechanisms of Goebbels, Nazi Germany's Minister of Propaganda: systematic repetition, the construction of an enemy and the subordination of facts to the narrative".
- Fifa fined the federation $20,000 (£15,000) and ordered it to close at least 15% of the available seats for Spain’s next home friendly.
- The RFEF argued that the word Muslim was “neither insulting nor pejorative”, adding the fans’ conduct should be assessed under Fifa’s article 17, which covers political, ideological, religious or offensive messages, rather than article 15, which deals with discrimination and racist abuse.