Real Madrid demand resignation of La Liga president for comparing club's media strategy to that of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels

Real Madrid have called for the resignation of La Liga president Javier Tebas after he compared methods used by the club's management to Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

Tebas had accused select journalists of acting as an 'official mouthpiece' of the club to air grievances, suggesting they were promoting views of high-ranking Real Madrid officials.

The La Liga chief claimed their approach was to create a narrative that casts the Spanish giants as a victim of referees and La Liga's decisions.

'Real Madrid's management directs an orchestra of mouthpieces and Real Madrid TV leads the singing,' Tebas wrote on social media.

'Their score is always the same: select the plays that suit them, repeat the grievance, feed the suspicion, and point fingers at the enemies.

'That method recalls propaganda mechanisms exploited by Goebbels, Nazi Germany's Minister of Propaganda: systematic repetition, construction of an enemy, and subordination of facts to the narrative.

Real Madrid have called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign after he suggested the club have employed techniques used by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels

'The comparison is with those propaganda techniques, not with an ideology or, of course, with the Madridista fanbase. Real Madrid TV is a central piece of that machinery. Where is the full match analysis for each round of games?

'Where are the possible errors that harm other clubs or those that favor Real Madrid? If they applied the same magnifying glass to every match, the result might ruin their script. But the script demands that Real Madrid always appear as the victim.'

Real Madrid responded in a lengthy statement with the club declaring Tebas's reference to Goebbels, who served as the Third Reich's Minister of Propaganda between 1933 and 1945, was 'deeply offensive' and 'morally repugnant.'

'The repeated conduct of Javier Tebas shows a lack of neutrality, respect and impartiality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities,' a club statement read.

'Real Madrid CF considers it absolutely intolerable and extraordinarily serious that someone who occupies two positions of utmost responsibility in Spanish football should resort to a comparison with the propaganda methods of the Nazi regime to discredit our club, its management and its television.

'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.

'Consequently, Real Madrid C. F. demands his immediate resignation as president of LaLiga and vice president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.'

Real Madrid also said it was 'especially concerning' that Tebas's post referenced the ongoing Negreira case.

The La Liga president claimed Real Madrid have tried to cast themselves as a 'victim' with complaints over officiating and scheduling of matches

The Spanish giants sent 50,000 pages of evidence to European football's governing body UEFA earlier this month, with the club accusing arch-rivals Barcelona of making illicit payments to an influential referees' chief.

The allegations in Spain are that Barcelona paid more than £7million in a series of payments over 17 years from 2001 to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira when he was vice president of Spain's technical committee of referees.

Barcelona have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, claiming the money was paid for scouting and technical reports provided by a company belonging to 81-year-old Negreira since the story broke in 2023.

La Liga claimed they were unable to investigate because of the time elapsed since the alleged offences were so far in the past, but UEFA did launch an investigation which remains ongoing.

Real Madrid and Tebas have frequently clashed in the past, with the latest incident coming with the Spanish giants having complained about refereeing decisions in recent matches.

Tebas had claimed last month the club were creating a 'permanent conspiracy' about officiating.

Responding to Real Madrid's demand for his resignation, Tebas again hit out at 'Real Madrid TV and its lapdogs' and claimed the club was trying to destroy La Liga.

'I've lost count of the times that, in thirteen years, Real Madrid's leaders have demanded my resignation or tried to disqualify me: complaints to the CSD, directly or through third parties, criminal lawsuits… Today's is just another one,' he wrote.

'What still hasn't arrived are the responses. They confuse neutrality with independence. My position demands independence, not passivity in the face of injustice or silence in the face of the continuous, disproportionate, and insulting attacks from Real Madrid TV and its lapdogs on our competition.

'The LaLiga president must defend it. Including against Real Madrid's leaders.

'My conclusion: they seek to DESTROY the national competition. What they haven't achieved so far with the Superliga, they're trying with a distorted narrative from their media and their lapdogs. They call it regeneration while attacking the prestige of the competition they participate in.'