Joan Laporta accuses Real Madrid of wanting to destroy La Liga and backs Javier Tebas

Laporta backs Tebas as Real Madrid criticism escalates

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has again hit out at bitter rivals Real Madrid, saying the club "want to destroy everything" and voicing strong support for La Liga president Javier Tebas ahead of Barcelona’s La Liga game with Real Betis.

Speaking to reporters on the eve of the Betis match, Laporta said his focus was on the upcoming fixture, describing Betis as "a great team and one of the most in-form and best-playing teams in LaLiga, along with Barça", while deferring discussion of the upcoming Clásico to a later date.

He then turned to the ongoing dispute between Real Madrid and La Liga. Real Madrid have continued to criticise referees this season and have launched an attack on Tebas, calling on him to step down after he compared the club’s management with Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

Laporta said he was "fortunate" to have Tebas as La Liga president.

"I do want to say how fortunate we are to have Javier Tebas as president of LaLiga, who has the experience required for these matters. He also has sound judgment in combating these attacks that Real Madrid is launching against LaLiga."

The Barcelona chief accused Real Madrid of a broad campaign against Spanish football institutions.

"It seems they want to destroy everything, they want to destroy LaLiga, they want to destroy the Technical Committee of Referees. They aren’t happy with the Federation either; they aren’t happy with anything."

Laporta added that Tebas's experience was needed to counter what he described as unbecoming behaviour from a La Liga member.

"It’s a good thing the president of LaLiga is aware of this and has already been through a thousand battles; in this sense, he has the experience to combat these attacks, which are unbecoming of a club that is a member of LaLiga, because they have a position or attitude of constantly attacking everything that is done."

The comments come just a week before Barcelona are due to host Real Madrid in La Liga at Camp Nou, with Barcelona reported as sitting top of the table, six points clear of Real Madrid.