CSD President Uribes Demands Tebas Apology Over Real Madrid Nazi Comparison
Spain’s Higher Sports Council president Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes has called on La Liga chief Javier Tebas to apologise after his comparison between Real Madrid’s communications strategy and Nazi propaganda sparked an escalating institutional row.
Speaking on Saturday, Uribes said Tebas had crossed a clear boundary by invoking the Nazis and Joseph Goebbels while criticising a club competing in his own league. The CSD chief said Spain protects free expression widely, but argued that such protection did not justify using those historical comparisons against Real Madrid.
Uribes described the remarks as unacceptable and said Tebas, as a senior figure in Spanish sport, should set an example through respect and fair play. He did not demand Tebas resign, stressing that any possible disciplinary case would be for the relevant bodies to determine rather than for him personally.
The government sports authority is now examining whether Tebas may have broken institutional rules, taking the conflict beyond the usual tensions between La Liga and the Bernabeu hierarchy.
The dispute began with a lengthy post by Tebas on X in which he attacked Real Madrid’s public messaging, particularly the club’s television channel and its criticism of refereeing. Tebas argued that Real Madrid TV was helping construct a persecution narrative and compared the methods involved with historical propaganda.
After a fierce backlash, Tebas said his point concerned communication techniques rather than any endorsement of an ideology. Real Madrid rejected that explanation, maintaining that the original comparison remained offensive and beneath the standards expected of a leading football official.
Madrid then demanded that Tebas leave both his post as La Liga president and his role as vice-president of the Spanish Football Federation. The club said his repeated comments showed a lack of neutrality, impartiality and respect incompatible with his institutional duties, and accused him of persistently targeting Madrid and those seeking transparency and reform in Spanish football.
Tebas subsequently intensified the confrontation, accusing Real Madrid of attempting to pressure him and damage the domestic competition. He linked the club’s campaign against La Liga to the collapse of the European Super League project, suggesting Madrid were using their public narrative to weaken the competition after failing to establish the breakaway tournament.
What happens next will depend on the CSD’s assessment of whether the controversy merits formal action, while pressure on Tebas to issue a public apology continues to grow.
