LaLiga: Real Madrid threaten legal action over journalist’s ETA jibe

One word too many

One comparison. That was all it took. And then it blew up. Juanma Castano, a Cadena COPE journalist, described Real Madrid’s official channel as “the Gara of ultraflorentinism”. Gara. A name linked to a newspaper historically associated with the ETA terror group. The comparison did not land well. Not at all.

Castano has now apologised in public. Too late. Real Madrid are not letting this go. The club have issued a statement. They are threatening legal action. One off-colour line, said live on air, has turned into a row that stretches far beyond football.

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Let’s do it

More than three minutes of footage

The club did not stop at the statement. On its X account, Real Madrid posted a video. More than three minutes long. A cut of every recent critical comment the journalist has made about the Madrid institution over the past few months. A clear attempt to build a case. In public. In front of millions of followers.

This is not a one-off. The club had already spent much of the season going after refereeing decisions, repeatedly claiming they had been on the wrong end of costly errors in league matches. This time the target is different. A journalist. A major radio station in Spain. The message, though, is the same. Real Madrid will not ignore any attack, whether it comes from the pitch, the studio or the airwaves.

Tension keeps rising in Madrid

The Castano episode comes on top of an already busy spell for the club, with talk of internal tension in recent days and constant media pressure in Spain. Real Madrid appear determined to take control of their image. The question is whether this head-on approach calms things down with the local press, or pours more fuel on the fire.

Cadena COPE remains one of the most listened-to sports stations in Spain, and its journalists’ views carry weight in Madrid. Real Madrid know that. By choosing confrontation over silence, the club risks keeping the story alive long after the few words that sparked it. Not ideal, at a time when the Madrid giants would probably rather the focus stayed on football.

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