Real Madrid has again called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign after he compared the club's efforts to discredit referees with propaganda tactics used by Nazi Germany.
Tebas criticised Madrid in a lengthy social media post on Friday over its club television channel's repeated claims that referees have harmed its chances of winning matches.
The channel regularly publishes video clips highlighting what it considers serious errors by match officials assigned to upcoming games involving the 15-time European champions.
Tebas likened the club's approach to the methods used by Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister of Nazi Germany during World War II.
“Real Madrid's executive has an orchestra of mouthpieces and Real Madrid leads the way,” Tebas wrote. He accused the club of repeatedly selecting incidents that favour its position, highlighting alleged injustices, fuelling suspicion and identifying opponents.
Tebas clarified that his comparison concerned propaganda techniques rather than Nazi ideology or Real Madrid supporters.
In response, Madrid issued a statement saying Tebas, who has repeatedly clashed with club president Florentino Pérez over the years, was unfit to lead the organisation representing Spain's top football clubs.
The club demanded his “immediate resignation”, arguing that his repeated actions demonstrated a lack of neutrality, respect and impartiality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities. It also described his continued criticism of Madrid and those seeking greater transparency and reform as a serious problem for Spanish football.
Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has also complained that refereeing decisions regularly work against the club, which holds a record 36 Spanish league titles.
In September, Madrid called for Tebas to step down after he criticised the club for targeting the refereeing team following its 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
In Friday's statement, Madrid reiterated its criticism of Tebas over what it considers his inadequate response to an ongoing judicial investigation into alleged payments made by Barcelona to an official associated with the refereeing committee of the Spanish Football Federation over several years.