Tebas declares that the Spanish League is not owned by Real Madrid and emphasizes impartiality in managing the competition

Javier Tebas, president of the Spanish Football League, renewed his attack on Real Madrid, due to a controversy over the refereeing performance in the derby match against Atletico.

Real Madrid had issued a statement criticizing Tebas's statements in which he described the club as "living in an illusion" against the backdrop of criticism directed at the refereeing performance, especially in the derby match, which Atletico Madrid won 2-1 and which witnessed controversial situations.

Commenting on the statement, Tebas said through his account on “X”: “I have read the statement. I completely agree with one statement: The president of the League does not own the competition, and neither does the president of Real Madrid.

He added: “Representing all clubs requires defending the principles of equality and fairness among them. This also applies when it is said that (the league is worth nothing) without Real Madrid, or that the referees are harming (the work from which they live). These are statements that were the reason for my response, and your statement did not address them in a single word.

He added: “Now, they are using the fact that I responded to an (independent) journalist as an excuse.” But this narrative is not new, nor is the strategy to divert attention from other problems. They have been practicing this for years on the Real Madrid TV channel and through their media mouthpieces, speaking and writing about a (manipulated) league week after week. Do not try to portray the discourse that you feed yourselves through your television channel and from within the halls of the club as merely an external opinion.”

Tebas continued: “They are asking me to contribute to strengthening confidence in the impartiality of the competition. Precisely for this reason, I reject the narrative that the referees are deliberately targeting Real Madrid. Criticizing an arbitration decision is legitimate, but turning every negative decision into evidence of (persecution) is a completely different matter. Does this generate confidence or harm the image of Spanish football?

He continued: “They confuse neutrality with independence. If by neutrality they mean not taking sides in anything, even in distinguishing between right and wrong, then they are asking me to abdicate my responsibility. As for independence, it requires making decisions based on my own convictions, without pressure or dependency on anyone, while applying the same rules to everyone and defending the public interest. This requires taking decisions and positions, even if Real Madrid does not like them.”

He concluded by saying: “Defending the interests of a club does not mean adopting its speech, just as representing everyone does not mean submitting to the strongest, as the interests of the competition must be defended, that is, the interests of (the league)... I do not own the competition, and I will not manage it as if it were the property of one club. Respect for everyone, without pressure or dependency on anyone.”

Real Madrid had said in its statement on its official website: “In response to the statements made by the President of the Spanish League, Javier Tebas Medrano, Real Madrid would like to express the following: Our club finds it unacceptable for the President of the League to exploit his institutional position to continue to question the credibility of Real Madrid and attack it in the manner he does in all his public interventions. “It is also extremely worrying that a person responsible for representing and protecting the interests of all clubs in the league has repeatedly focused and obsessed on targeting Real Madrid, turning our club into a constant target for his public attacks.”

The club added: “His recent statements reflect a particular seriousness and raise astonishment, as they are not appropriate for an official running an institution. They came in response to an article written by an independent journalist in a digital media outlet. However, Tebas chose to attack our club and comment on our sports strategy, which is completely inappropriate and irresponsible behavior.”

The statement continued: “It is astonishing that the president of the association devotes his time and personal platforms to trying to undermine Real Madrid’s reputation publicly and continuously, instead of contributing, based on the responsibility of his position, to strengthening confidence in the institutions that must ensure the neutrality of competition. “In doing so, he continues to harm the image of the league and Spanish football worldwide.”

The club concluded by saying: “In the face of this inappropriate behavior that has been continuing for a long time, we believe that professional football in Spain is in dire need of a leader capable of managing it and developing its full potential while adhering to the fundamental duty of neutrality. It needs someone who understands the nature of his role, as the president of the association is not the owner of the competition, but rather a manager in the service of the clubs that make up this competition and are entrusted with its management. The clubs need someone to perform this task with honesty and integrity.”

Real Madrid lost its match against Atletico 1-2, causing the team to fall to fourth place, 6 points behind its rival Barcelona, ​​the top of the standings, while Portuguese Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid coach, and the club itself, criticized the refereeing performance.

The end of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico not only marked the end of the curtain on the tournament, but also opened the door to the departure of a large number of coaches, whether due to dismissal, resignation, or expiration of contracts, in addition to making changes that were predetermined before the start of the tournament.

While teams such as Spain, the world champion, and England, who finished third in the World Cup, retained their coaches, major teams such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia and Belgium entered a new phase, while the changes extended to teams in Africa, Asia, South America and North America, forming one of the largest waves of change at the level of the technical staff of the teams in recent years.

With the curtain coming down on the 2026 World Cup, these teams are entering a new phase that is no less important than the tournament itself, as the new technical staff or those who have maintained their positions await various challenges related to rebuilding the teams, and starting the qualifying campaign and the upcoming continental championships, leading to preparation for the next major competitions. Coaches such as Jurgen Klopp with Germany, Xavi Hernandez with the Netherlands, Zinedine Zidane with France, Jorge Jesus with Portugal, Mark van Bommel with Belgium, and Slaven Bilic with Croatia will have to prove their ability to transform technical change into results, at a time when other teams are seeking to regain their balance after World Cup failures.

Some teams are also starting a new phase with temporary or new coaches, amid different pressures according to the goals of each team, whether competing for continental titles, qualifying for the next tournaments, or rebuilding a generation capable of competing in the 2030 World Cup. As these challenges approach, the coming months will reveal the extent of the success of these changes in giving the teams a clear technical direction and stability that allows them to build on what they achieved or correct what stumbled during the World Cup.

In Tunisia, Frenchman Sabri Lamouchi was one of the first coaches to leave during the World Cup, as he was sacked following the heavy loss to Sweden 1-5 in the first round. Frenchman Hervé Renard succeeded him during the tournament, but the veteran coach did not continue after leaving the World Cup, so the task was assigned to Moin Chaabani, after which Renard returned to coach the Côte d'Ivoire national team.

In Uruguay, the era of Argentine Marcelo Bielsa ended after the team's exit from the group stage. Diego Forlan succeeded him temporarily, after a busy career as a player with the Uruguay national team.

In Scotland, Steve Clarke put an end to a period that had continued since 2019 after the team failed to advance beyond the group stage. Sebastian Bocognoli took over the task as his successor.

In the Czech Republic, Miroslav Kotbek's mission ended after being eliminated from the group stage of the World Cup. Spaniard Santi Denia took over the job as his successor, after long experience with the Spanish national teams for the age groups, and winning the European Under-21 Nations Cup title.

As for South Korea, it ended its relationship with coach Hong Myung-bo after the early exit from the World Cup, and Spaniard Robert Moreno took his place.

Germany was one of the most prominent teams that witnessed a change in leadership, as Julian Nagelsmann left after losing to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32 of the World Cup, and the German Football Association chose Jurgen Klopp to succeed him in one of the most prominent coaching changes in the world.

Klopp made his name with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, where he won several titles with them, most notably the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019, before working as president of global football for Red Bull. He signed a contract with the German national team that extends until the 2030 World Cup.

In the Netherlands, Ronald Koeman's second term ended after the World Cup, with Spaniard Xavi Hernandez taking his place.

Koeman, who is considered one of the most prominent Dutch players in history, twice coached the Windmills national team and led it during the 2024 European Championship.

As for Xavi, he is one of the most prominent graduates of the Barcelona Academy, and played a pivotal role in the club’s golden era before moving to training with Al-Sadd of Qatar and Barcelona. He is now having his first experience with a national team, with a contract extending until the 2030 World Cup.

In Ecuador, the mission of Argentine Sebastian Becasese ended after the World Cup, after he took over in 2024. He was succeeded by his compatriot Marcelo Gallardo, who achieved his most notable successes with River Plate, and led them to the Copa Libertadores title, the Argentine League, and a number of local and continental titles.

In Croatia, the era of Zlatko Dalic, who took over the national team since 2017 and led it to runner-up in the 2018 World Cup and third place in the 2022 World Cup, has ended. His contract expired after the tournament without extension. He was succeeded by his compatriot Slaven Bilic, who previously coached the Croatia national team, West Ham United, Lokomotiv Moscow and West Bromwich, in addition to experiences in Saudi Arabia and China, while Dalic moved to coach the UAE national team.

Pape Thiaw left as coach of the Senegal national team after being eliminated from the World Cup by Belgium. This is after he led the Teranga Lions in the 2022 World Cup, and also reached the final of the 2026 African Cup of Nations. French Senegalese Patrick Vieira took his place, after a coaching career with New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa, in addition to a brilliant career as a player with France.

In Ghana, Portuguese Carlos Queiroz left his position after losing to Colombia, before the two parties agreed on his continuation during the coming period, at least until the 2027 African Cup of Nations. Queiroz has extensive experience with the national teams of Portugal, Iran, Colombia and Egypt. He also worked as an assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, and coached Real Madrid for one season.

As for Mexico, the change was known before the World Cup, as Javier Aguirre knew that his mission would end after the tournament, and that he would be succeeded by Rafa Marquez, who was part of his technical staff. Aguirre previously coached the Mexican national team twice, along with Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, Real Mallorca, and clubs in Asia and the Gulf. As for Marquez, the former captain of Mexico and one of its most prominent defenders in history, he played a long career with Monaco, Barcelona and other clubs, and is now starting his experience leading the national team.

In Portugal, Spaniard Roberto Martinez's mission ended after being eliminated by Spain in the round of 16 of the World Cup, after a good career with England's Everton and the Belgium national team. Jorge Jesus took over the job as his successor, leading his country's national team for the first time after a long career with clubs, most notably Benfica, Flamengo, Al Hilal and Fenerbahce.

In Belgium, the departure of Frenchman Rudi Garcia was not related to the team's failure in the tournament, as the team reached the quarter-finals before losing to Spain. But the coach's contract expired on July 31 without an extension.

Garcia previously coached Lille, Roma, Lyon, Marseille, and Al-Nasr Saudi Arabia. He was succeeded by Dutchman Mark van Bommel, who coached PSV Eindhoven, Wolfsburg and Royal Antwerp, and led the latter to the local double in Belgium in the 2022-2023 season.

In France, Didier Deschamps' departure was scheduled since January 2025, when he announced that his coaching career with his country would end at the end of the 2026 World Cup, after he had coached the Roosters since 2012, and led them to the 2018 World Cup title, 2022 World Cup runner-up, and the 2021 European Nations League title.

He is succeeded by Zinedine Zidane, who returns to training after an absence since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021, after leading the Spanish club to 3 consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, in addition to two Spanish League titles.

In South Africa, the contract of Belgian Hugo Bros expired on July 31, after he led the national team to the World Cup and passed the group stage for the first time in its history, and he also led him to third place in the African Cup of Nations. Bruce decided not to renew for personal reasons. He was succeeded by South African Pitso Mosimane, who made his name with Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly of Egypt, and led the latter to the African Champions League title, before going through other experiences in Saudi Arabia.

According to the website of the Spanish newspaper "Marca", the changes extended to other teams. In Cape Verde, Pedro Leitao Brito, known as Bobista, left his position after leading the team in the World Cup, and Humberto Bettencourt took his place. Sebastien Megni also left coaching the Haiti national team, and David Badie took over the leadership.