Javier Tebas is undoubtedly the most media-friendly and offensive league president in Europe. At a time when the boss of the LFP, Vincent Labrune, is often accused of being in the pay of Paris Saint-Germain, Tebas does not hesitate to tackle everyone, including the flagship clubs of his own championship. In Europe, Manchester City and PSG have often been attacked, accused of being club-states distorting competition. In Spain, it is with Real Madrid that Tebas is currently at war. Relations between the LaLiga boss and Florentino Pérez have always been frosty, and the situation has not improved with the Super League affair. A fervent opponent of the project led by President Merengue, Tebas has made numerous declarations hostile to the creation of this league, since deserted by almost all of the English, Spanish and Italian clubs initially involved.
Today, the project has taken a serious blow to the head, but it is far from being the only subject of discord between Tebas and Casa Blanca. For several months now, the Madrid club, via its channel Real Madrid TVsystematically charges the referees and LaLiga, especially after each bad result. An editorial choice so controversial that it forced LaLiga to review its method of appointing referees for each day: the latter are now appointed 24 hours before the matches, and no longer several days in advance, in order to limit the media pressure orchestrated by the club. Despite this measure, Real Madrid has not changed its strategy and constantly poses as a victim, even going so far as to suggest that it would be the target of a generalized conspiracy. This climate of tension further worsened with the Vinicius Jr affair, expelled after pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair and suspended for four matches (which deprived him of the Clasico in particular). This time, it is the publication of two articles from the media The Debate which made Tebas come off his hinges. These two papers, criticizing the management of the Vinicius Jr case as well as the scheduling of the trip to Valencia just three days after the Champions League match against AEK Athens, were perceived by the LaLiga boss as yet another attack ordered by Casa Blanca.
Tebas more than ever at war against Casa Blanca
“Tomás González Martín and Jesús Urdiola (the two journalists who wrote the articles, editor’s note), it becomes more difficult every day to distinguish your articles from a press release from the management of Real Madrid. Tomás, especially you, have become their official spokesperson, to the point of using expressions identical to those I heard from a senior Valdebebas official. Lots of references to “club sources”, but very little perspective on what these sources want to convey. You look like a little parrot, but with a keyboard. And so that the protagonists make no mistake: this senior official whose comments you are quoting is NOT the one who is calling the media editorial offices to demand the dismissal of journalists and to put pressure so that business leaders are removed. They are different people. And these calls and pressures are not a thing of the past. They are very real. Very present. Real Madrid management leads an orchestra of spokespersons and Real Madrid TV leads the way. His role is always the same: select the actions that interest him, repeat the offense, fuel suspicion and designate enemies.he posted on his X account, before moving on to a comparison which will cause a lot of ink to flow in Spain.
“This method recalls the propaganda mechanisms exploited by Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany: systematic repetition, construction of an enemy and subordination of facts to the story. The comparison concerns these propaganda techniques, and not an ideology nor, of course, Madrid supporters. Real Madrid TV is a central part of this machine. Where is the complete analysis of each day’s matches? Where are the possible errors that harm other clubs or those that favor Real Madrid? If they applied the same critical eye to all encounters, the result might perhaps disrupt their scenario. But the scenario demands that Real Madrid always appear as a victim. We thus reach the extreme of presenting even the ABSENCE OF ERROR as an error and using the Negreira affair as a permanent explanation for any decision that they do not like. The suspicion is considered proven and the conclusion is written even before the start of the match. And this same technique now applies to calendars: we only retain what fuels the feeling of injustice and we obscure the context that would allow the facts to be verified. So let’s talk about calendars, Tomás. Let this senior manager who feeds the bullhorns explain how many requests for time and day changes Real Madrid has presented and how many have been accepted (on this subject, he is at the top of the ranking). Those who were accepted too! He should not be content to cite only those which interest him to fuel the controversy of the moment. And that it includes requests related to the calendar aimed at facilitating the organization of events that the “super license” authorizes at the Santiago-Bernabéu. Because to ask that the competition adapts to their needs, they show a lot of initiative; to recognize satisfied requests, they have much less memory. It is this assessment that must be published: what Real Madrid asked for, what was granted and what could not be granted, with the corresponding reasons. Schedules also affect the opponent, other clubs, fans and the competition’s broadcasting commitments. A request does not become a right simply because it comes from Real Madrid, nor does a refusal prove persecution. LaLiga defends its competition. What is not serious is asking for adjustments to days, times and calendars, and then presenting each disagreement as proof that LaLiga is harming the club. If we want to talk about the treatment received, we must tell the WHOLE treatment received. Tomás, these are concrete questions for your sources. And Real Madrid TV has material for a broadcast: the club’s requests and the responses it received. We will see if they devote the same enthusiasm to this issue as to videos denouncing injustices. Then, other media relay the message. Real Madrid TV broadcasts the images, others publish the headlines and everyone repeats the same accusation. » The reaction of Casa Blanca should not be long in coming…
