{
  "id": 9298909,
  "title": "La Liga president hits out at Real Madrid refereeing ‘conspiracy’ claims",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/la-liga-president-hits-out-at-real-madrid-refereeing-conspiracy-claims",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T07:47:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/soccer/world-soccer/la-liga-president-hits-out-at-real-madrid-refereeing-conspiracy-claims/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "La Liga president Javier Tebas has strongly condemned what he perceives as a \"conspiracy\" theory alleging referees are targeting Real Madrid. Following Real's 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid, coach Jose Mourinho presented screenshots at a post-match press conference purporting to show red-card tackles by Atletico players. Tebas responded to a pro-Real Madrid article on social media, dismissing the allegations as part of a \"permanent conspiracy.\" Tebas, often in conflict with Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez, questioned the logic of refereeing based on revenue or viewership. He emphasized that Real Madrid is vital to La Liga but criticized the claim that the league holds no value without them, asserting that competition belongs to all clubs. Madrid's season has been underwhelming, with the team sitting six points behind league leaders Barcelona. Tebas dismissed the conspiracy theory as unfounded, stating it's an easy cop-out rather than a legitimate explanation for on-pitch issues. Madrid angrily rejected Tebas's comments, calling them \"intolerable\" and demanding a neutral leader to steer Spanish football. The technical committee of referees acknowledged a \"clear and obvious error\" in one of the fouls cited by Mourinho, stating VAR should have intervened.",
  "summary": "\"Here they go again, the mouthpieces and the regime's television, building the same old narrative,\" said Tebas.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}