Barcelona president Joan Laporta has accused Real Madrid of attempting to undermine Spanish football institutions through their constant criticism of La Liga and its leadership.

Laporta made the remarks amid growing tensions between Real Madrid and La Liga president Javier Tebas, whose recent comments about the Spanish giants have sparked a fresh controversy.

According to ESPN, the Barcelona president defended Tebas and questioned Madrid’s continued confrontations with the organisations responsible for overseeing Spanish football.

Speaking ahead of Barcelona’s La Liga encounter with Real Betis, Laporta suggested that Madrid were dissatisfied with almost every aspect of the country’s football administration.

What Laporta Said

“It seems they want to destroy everything, they want to destroy La Liga, they want to destroy the Technical Committee of Referees,” Laporta said.

“They [Madrid] have adopted a stance of constantly attacking everything that happens in LaLiga, the Federation and the referees,” Laporta said.

“They come up with a thousand excuses because they cannot accept the situation they find themselves in, which is a result of their own actions. In my opinion, they should engage in self-criticism, take a hard look at themselves internally.”

“I want to say how lucky we are to have Javier Tebas as president of LaLiga, who has the experience that these matters require,” Laporta told reporters on Saturday.

“What’s more, he [Tebas] has good criteria to countering these attacks that Real Madrid are launching against La Liga; it seems they [Madrid] want to tear everything apart — they want to tear La Liga apart, they want to tear the Referees’ Technical Committee apart; they’re not happy with the [Spanish Football] Federation either — they’re not happy with anything.

“Thankfully, the president of LaLiga is aware of this and has the experience gained from countless battles to counter these attacks, which are unbecoming of a club that is a member of LaLiga.”

Incident That Preceded Laporta’s Comments

The latest disagreement followed remarks by Tebas comparing aspects of Real Madrid’s communication strategy to propaganda tactics associated with Nazi Germany.

Madrid strongly condemned the comparison and subsequently demanded Tebas’ resignation.

Laporta’s comments also come amid the longstanding disagreement between Barcelona and Real Madrid over the Negreira case, which has contributed to tensions between the Spanish rivals.

Despite the controversy, the Catalan club’s president maintained that Barcelona remained focused on their performances on the pitch.

The Catalan giants defeated Real Betis 5-2 on Saturday and face a demanding week that includes a Champions League encounter with Paris Saint-Germain before Sunday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid.

With the first El Clasico of the season approaching, the latest exchange between Barcelona’s president and Madrid has added another dimension to the rivalry between Spain’s two biggest clubs.