Real Madrid Threaten Legal Action Over Journalist’s Terrorist Comparison
Real Madrid have threatened legal action against journalist Juanma Castaño after he compared the club’s television channel to a newspaper historically linked to the terrorist group ETA. The Real Madrid Juanma Castaño statement landed on Tuesday, hours after the club had already hit back publicly at LaLiga president Javier Tebas.
Castaño made the comparison in a column for the newspaper ABC titled “Real Madrid at war”. According to Marca’s reporting of the column, he wrote that Real Madrid’s official television acts as the “Gara newspaper of the extremist Florentino leaning”, a reference to a publication tied in its history to ETA. The line was enough to prompt an immediate and pointed reply from the club.
Official Statement Responds to Juanma Castaño’s Controversial Column
Madrid’s response left no room for ambiguity. According to the club’s official statement, the comparison is “entirely rejected and utterly unacceptable”. The statement went further, saying that likening Real Madrid TV to a paper that “in its history is linked to the world of the terrorist organisation ETA represents an extremely dangerous overstepping of all limits”.
The club also defended its channel’s editorial line, stating that “Real Madrid’s channel legitimately exercises its right to inform and to defend the interests of the club, its members and its fans”. This was the second official statement Real Madrid issued that day, following an earlier statement regarding Javier Tebas.
Derby Context and Media Criticisms Surrounding Real Madrid TV
Castaño’s column was not a simple attack on the club. He acknowledged that “the two most controversial incidents in the derby deserve two clear red cards” and wrote that Real Madrid “has every right to express its anger at the refereeing, the video technology and the referees’ committee”. Our recent derby match report covered those same flashpoints in detail.
His criticism was aimed instead at the tone Real Madrid TV struck afterwards. Castaño accused the club of “being blind to a matter that goes back a long time”, suggesting the channel’s coverage ignored wider context around the refereeing row. The nuance in his piece was clear: sympathy for Real Madrid’s frustration over the officials, paired with sharp criticism of how the club’s own broadcaster chose to express it. Supporters can revisit the flashpoints themselves through our tactical analysis of the derby.
Legal Options and Club Communication Timeline Ahead
The Real Madrid Juanma Castaño statement stopped short of confirming that court action has begun. The club said it “reserves the right to take the measures it deems appropriate in the face of an attack that is unacceptable in any form whatsoever”. No specific legal steps or dates have been announced.
Tuesday’s double statement, first against Tebas and then against Castaño, shows a club willing to confront its critics both publicly and legally on the same day. Full detail on the statement and the column that prompted it can be found in Goal’s report on Real Madrid’s statement.
