In Madrid, the argument around Real Madrid TV has widened beyond the studio and into the club’s political orbit, with Jesús Bengoechea rejecting Juanma Castaño’s public apology over a comparison that angered the European champions.
Bengoechea, who previously worked as Florentino Pérez’s campaign chief during Real Madrid presidential elections and is a contributor to the club channel, responded after Castaño compared Real Madrid TV with Gara, a newspaper linked in the debate to ETA. Real Madrid issued a statement protesting the comparison.
Quick facts
- Juanma Castaño withdrew his comparison involving Real Madrid TV and Gara.
- He apologised for that comparison during El Partidazo de COPE.
- Castaño nevertheless maintained that Real Madrid TV “lies, manipulates, points at and harasses”.
- Jesús Bengoechea said he would not accept what he called a false apology.
- Bengoechea defended the accuracy of Real Madrid TV’s videos and criticised both ABC and COPE.
Castaño said on air that he was taking back the analogy and asking for forgiveness. But he also stood by his wider criticism of the club broadcaster, accusing it of using its platform to mislead and target people.
That distinction was not enough for Bengoechea. In a message on X, he said the allegation that RMTV lies was as serious, and as untrue, as the original Gara comparison.
He argued that the channel’s videos are disliked precisely because they cannot be disproved, insisting that the footage is genuine rather than created by artificial intelligence. Bengoechea said critics attack the broadcasts without answering the material they contain.
The former Pérez campaign figure then escalated his response, calling on ABC to stop publishing Castaño’s columns and attacking the journalist’s writing. He also said, identifying himself as a Christian, that he was troubled by COPE, through its connection with the Catholic Church, employing Castaño.
