Tebas defends La Liga's independence after Real Madrid's demand in Sunday Derby

On Sunday afternoon, after the controversial Madrid Derby between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, published a forceful response to Real Madrid's statement that demanded his resignation.

Official response from Tebas

Tebas said he had read the club's statement and agreed with one of its phrases: “the president of LaLiga is not the owner of the competition”. He added that the president of Real Madrid is not the owner either, emphasizing that representing all clubs means defending equality and fairness among them.

The official also criticised the claim that “LaLiga is worth nothing” without the presence of Real Madrid and the accusation that referees damage “the business that feeds them”. According to Tebas, those statements do not appear in the club’s communiqué.

Allegations of media manipulation

The president denounced that Real Madrid hides behind the supposed independence of a journalist to divert attention from other issues, pointing out that the narrative of a manipulated league has been repeated week after week from the club’s television channel and its spokespeople.

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He also recalled that the club demands that he contributes to building confidence in the competition’s impartiality, but rejected the idea that referees are targeting Real Madrid.

Defence of neutrality and independence

Tebas argued that criticizing a refereeing decision is legitimate, but turning every perceived damage into proof of persecution is another matter, which does not build confidence but harms the image of Spanish football.

He explained that neutrality does not equal the absence of a stance: independence requires deciding with one's own judgment, applying the same rules to everyone and defending the common interest, even when Real Madrid does not like it.

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He concluded that defending the interests of the competition and La Liga does not mean managing it as if it belonged to a single club; he stated that he is not the owner of LaLiga, that he will not run it as if it were owned by Real Madrid, and that he respects all clubs without being subordinate to any.