Real Madrid deems the comparison of its channel with Gara unacceptable
Real Madrid issued a strong public response to journalist Juanma Castaño on Tuesday, after the comparison of the club's official channel (Channel) with the newspaper Gara in an opinion column published in ABC by the Cope network on the newspaper's website.
In a statement, the club said it reserves the right to take whatever measures it deems appropriate, although it did not confirm the opening of any legal file. The sentence underscores the intention to act even though there is not yet a formal legal action. After the release, the club reiterated its stance to the media.
The reaction came two days after the Madrid derby, in which Los Blancos expressed their rejection of Castaño's text more because of the wording than the general criticism of the club. The club noted that the problem lay in the way the channel was described, not in the author's overall opinion.
Comparison qualified as deplorable
Real Madrid described the analogy with Gara as deplorable and unacceptable, considering it an attack on the reputation of its official channel. In the same statement, the club said it was not a simple media disagreement, but an aggression that crossed all limits.
The conflict is linked to the lingering anger over referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias's performance during the derby against Atlético de Madrid, whose result remains contested by the club. According to the statement, several decisions, including two first‑half incidents involving Atlético players, should have resulted in expulsions. Real Madrid TV has kept the controversy alive by covering those decisions, a practice common in recent seasons.
Real Madrid TV accuses the Colchoneros of hypocrisy in the Madrid derby
Defense of the official channel and its history
Los Blancos' main complaint focused on Castaño equating the channel with Gara, a newspaper whose history, according to the club, is linked to the terrorist organization ETA, labeling the comparison as an exercise that exceeds all limits.
The club also defended the channel's right to inform and represent the interests of the club, its members and supporters, describing it as the official media of an institution with one hundred twenty‑four years of history.
That defense was reproduced by El Confidencial, which quoted the same institutional argument.
Real Madrid did not specify what type of measures it might adopt, leaving open whether the matter will evolve into a formal legal dispute or be resolved through public pressure. What form any further action might take remains undecided, according to the statement itself.
According to Yahoo Sports, the club's current position is to reserve its options without confirming any concrete step. So far, the institution has not announced any definitive action.