In Madrid, a dispute over the limits of club media has widened after broadcaster Juanma Castaño withdrew a comparison he made between Real Madrid TV and the Basque newspaper Gara.
Castaño apologised on his El Partidazo de Cope programme after Real Madrid issued a statement condemning an article published in ABC on Tuesday. The club described the comparison as an “extremely serious” act that had gone beyond every acceptable boundary.
Castaño withdraws the comparison
The radio presenter accepted that the metaphor should not have appeared in his column. “The comparison was excessive and unnecessary, and I apologise for comparing Real Madrid TV with Gara,” he said, adding that he should not have included it in the ABC article.
He made clear, however, that removing the reference did not mean changing his broader assessment of the club’s television channel. Castaño said his opinion was the same as it had been the previous day and would remain so unless Real Madrid TV altered its conduct.
“I withdraw the comparison,” he said. “But Real Madrid TV lies, manipulates, singles people out and harasses.”
Real Madrid’s response
Real Madrid reacted publicly on Tuesday morning, arguing that the language used in the article crossed a line. The statement focused on the comparison itself, which Castaño later described as unfortunate and mistaken.
While repeating his apology, Castaño maintained that Real Madrid TV operates as an official club outlet and repeated his criticism that it lies, manipulates, targets individuals and harasses them. He stressed that those claims represented his personal view, separate from the comparison he had withdrawn.
