Real Madrid supporters launched a vocal assault against Barcelona, club president Joan Laporta, and La Liga president Javier Tebas during their match against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabéu, in an extension of the war of words that has erupted in recent days.
According to Cadena SER, the protests began from the opening minutes, as the “Grada Fans” supporter group displayed a banner and chanted slogans directly targeting Spanish football officials and the Catalan club.
The banner read: “This is not football… this is Tebas and Negreira,” with the names of Tebas and Negreira written in blue and red letters—a direct nod to Barcelona and the ongoing legal case surrounding payments made to the former vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees.
Supporters chanted slogans including: “Tebas, leave now,” “Corruption in the Federation,” “Negreira is still refereeing,” and “Laporta keeps paying,” combining demands for the La Liga chief’s departure with refereeing-related accusations.
The chants recall the case of payments made by Barcelona to companies linked to José María Enríquez Negreira. The Catalan club denies that the payments were intended to buy referees or influence match outcomes, maintaining that they were made in exchange for legitimate consulting services and technical refereeing reports.
The protests followed a formal statement issued by Real Madrid on Friday in response to Tebas comparing the club’s communication methods and television channel to propaganda mechanisms used by Joseph Goebbels in the Nazi regime. In their statement, the club asserted: “Real Madrid demands his immediate resignation from the presidency of La Liga and his role as vice president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.”
Tebas responded to the statement by defending La Liga’s actions regarding the Negreira case and rejecting accusations of inaction, adding: “All of this has one name: intimidation. Wrapping it in an official statement does not transform it into reform,” further escalating the dispute with the Madrid board.
Laporta weighed in on the feud ahead of Barcelona’s match against Real Betis on Saturday, publicly backing the La Liga president: “We are fortunate to have Javier Tebas to face these attacks from Real Madrid”—comments that directly preceded him being targeted by the Bernabéu crowd.
This volatile atmosphere comes just one week ahead of El Clásico, scheduled for Sunday, October 25, at Camp Nou, heightening the tension surrounding the fixture. The conflict has officially crossed over from statements and media exchanges into the stands, just as both teams prepare for their first direct league meeting of the season.
