LaLiga chief accuses Real Madrid of 'whining' over referee decisions

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has accused Real Madrid of "whining" and fabricating a "global conspiracy theory" through their ongoing criticism of refereeing in Spain.

Madrid faced scrutiny after sending an open letter to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) earlier this month, in which they accused officials of "manipulating and corrupting" the competition following decisions that did not go in their favor.

Tebas defended LaLiga's decision to report Madrid for their formal complaint about referees to the RFEF's disciplinary committee.

"I'm starting to feel embarrassed as a Real Madrid fan," Tebas told Europa Press on Monday.

"They're whining and creating a false narrative," he said. "That there's a global conspiracy against Madrid."

"They're trying to involve all of Real Madrid in a conspiracy theory that doesn't exist."

"If they win, it's because they've fought against the forces of evil, and if they lose, it's because of a referee conspiracy."

"It's an insult to the rest of the clubs."

"We need to protect the competition and its clubs," Tebas emphasized. "Accusations of manipulation and corruption harm the integrity of the competition."

When asked about the "Tebas stop stealing from us" chants from some Madrid fans during their 2-0 home win against Girona on Sunday, Tebas responded: "Everything they shouted was planned."

"We all know how this works. What are we stealing from them?"

Meanwhile, Tebas is continuing to argue that Spain forward Dani Olmo should not be allowed to finish the season with Barcelona.

Olmo was unregistered by LaLiga and the RFEF on January 1 after Barca failed to demonstrate compliance with the league's financial fair play (FFP) regulations by the December 31 deadline.

However, Spain's sports ministry (CSD) reinstated Olmo's registration a week later, agreeing to review an appeal from Barca.

According to Tebas, LaLiga is still pursuing legal action to have Olmo unregistered.

"He should not finish the season with Barca," Tebas said regarding Olmo. "We have submitted a very clear legal argument."

"Olmo signed the contract knowing that he could not be registered in December. He was aware that this could happen."

Olmo joined Barcelona from RB Leipzig for 60 million euros (62.4 million dollars) last summer.

He was initially registered temporarily until December 31 under a rule allowing clubs to allocate up to 80 percent of the salary due to an injured player - in this case, Andreas Christensen - for replacements.