It’s Totally Cool And Normal That Real Madrid And La Liga’s President Are Bickering Online

If José Mourinho bringing a printout of questionable fouls from the Madrid derby to a press conference was an objectively funny maneuver from the Special One, the resulting fallout is bewildering, convoluted, and a little bit pathetic from everyone involved.

It seems that Mourinho’s actions did what he meant them to do: They grabbed the attention of La Liga. Mourinho, however, may not have wanted the attention specifically of league president Javier Tebas. Tebas, who grew up a Real Madrid fan but who has turned out to be a thorn in the club’s side, has never been one to keep his opinions to himself, whether that’s about racism in Spanish soccer or about FIFA president Gianni Infantino. On that note, bright and early on Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. Spain time, Tebas decided to drop a response to the idea that there is some form of conspiracy against Real Madrid from La Liga’s refs, in the form of a long-winded, strangely combative rant on his personal Twitter account. It’s really worth translating and reading in full:

Here they go again, the mouthpieces and the regime’s television, building the same old narrative: the permanent conspiracy. When it’s not Negreira, it’s the referee; when it’s not that, it’s that they’re not international. All clubs can be officiated by international referees and by those who aren’t. None has the right to on-demand refereeing.

But this article goes further: It claims that referees harm “the business that feeds them.” What exactly is it asking for? Refereeing based on revenue, viewership, or the badge? What a way to understand equality in the competition.

Real Madrid is crucial to La Liga. But claiming that “La Liga is worth nothing” without it reveals the disdain for the other clubs, their fans, and their history. The competition belongs to no one.

Claiming that referees are directed against Real Madrid is living in another galaxy. That narrative serves as an excuse to cover up other shortcomings that are plain to see in these first matches of the season. It’s more comfortable to point to a conspiracy than to explain what’s happening on the pitch.

And my stance doesn’t depend on any position: A refereeing error doesn’t prove a conspiracy, nor does repeating it for years turn it into truth. GET THE BLINDERS OFF! It’s September, and they’re already calling the League adulterated. No one with common sense buys that old excuse anymore.

From the same league that brought you FORGETTING THINGS, we now have “¡QUE SE QUITEN LA VENDA!,” which roughly translates to “GET THE BLINDERS OFF!” Not quite as punchy, but it’s only one part of Tebas’s six-paragraph rant on Real’s behavior in the aftermath of its 2-1 loss to Atlético Madrid, which ends with him essentially calling Madrid’s on-field product ass. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a league president (or equivalent executive) ever hint at its marquee club’s failures on the field before, and Tebas did more than hint.

Here’s the thing, though: Tebas is about as right here as Mourinho was to complain about the missed calls in the derby. Yes, Lee Kang-in should have been sent off for his tackle on Federico Valverde, but Real Madrid’s apparatus, from the manager to the sympathetic press, should not be calling into question the integrity of La Liga seven matches into the season. Mourinho’s quote about La Liga’s “normal circumstances,” or lack thereof, was over the line of showmanship and into, as Tebas calls out, conspiracy theorizing unbecoming of any manager in any soccer league. That type of complaint is a short hop away from a temper tantrum, an inference that no calls should ever go against Real Madrid simply because it is Real Madrid.

But! Just as Mourinho stepped over the line, Tebas also fucked up here: His post is framed not specifically over what Mourinho said and did in his press conference, but over an article in El Debate, an online Spanish publication. The article, by Tomás González-Martín, implies that Real Madrid is bigger than La Liga, and that the refs are biting the hand that feeds them. Certainly inflammatory words, but for Tebas to reply as if these words came directly from a Real Madrid Comunicado Oficial undermines his point.

Hey, speaking of Comunicados Oficial, less than half a day after Tebas’s post went up, at around 5:00 p.m. Spanish time, Real Madrid sent out one of those bad boys, directly attacking Tebas’s own attack. Just as the president’s diatribe was a doozy, so is this one, as the club accuses Tebas of being “obsessed” with “targeting Real Madrid, turning our club into a constant subject of his public attacks.” The statement also goes on to, rightly, call Tebas’s dig at Real’s play and strategy “entirely inappropriate and irresponsible,” before ending with a call to consider new leadership in La Liga:

Given this inappropriate behavior, which has persisted over time, we believe that professional football in Spain urgently needs a leader capable of managing it and developing its full potential with the fundamental duty of neutrality. It needs someone who understands the nature of their role, as the president of La Liga is not the owner of the competition but a manager serving the clubs that comprise it and entrust him with its direction. The clubs need someone who serves this mission with honesty.

Damn. This isn’t just some perfunctory PR-approved message to keep the pressure off of Mourinho and onto the refereeing mistakes from the derby. This is a full-throated dismissal of Tebas’s employment as La Liga president and a condemnation of his behavior in the job. It might not make sense for either side to pick this particular fight, but damn if it isn’t riveting. (Admittedly, it helps my fascination at this that I am a Barcelona fan; it’s much easier to enjoy La Liga shenanigans when the club I support isn’t in the crosshairs.)

It’s a classic “everyone is right, everyone is wrong” situation that does nothing but sully the already worsening reputation of La Liga and its refs, a reputation born from years of soft favoritism toward its bigger clubs, a pendulum swinging between Catalonia and the capital depending on the year and the perspective of the viewer. All we need now is for Mourinho to jump back in and fan the flames even further.