Real Madrid loses lawsuit against TV channel for defaming play

Spain's Supreme Court has declared TV3 innocent of broadcasting a satirical video showing Real Madrid fouling Messi.

Pepe is one of the players defamed in the video. Photo: Reuters

The Supreme Court ruled on January 24 that the video was purely satirical and did not exceed the limits of what is acceptable. The ruling overturned an earlier decision by a lower court in Spain.

Catalan TV channel TV3 aired the video in 2013 to hype up an El Clasico match. The video shows several Real players fouling Barca star Messi. The players who fouled them included Pepe, Ramos, Alonso and Ozil.

TV3 also added scenes of hyenas hunting and scenes comparing Pepe to Hannibal Lecter, the serial killer in the movie The Silence of the Lambs. These are the scenes that made Real decide to file a lawsuit.

Under former coach Jose Mourinho (2010-2013), Real used to play very aggressively in El Clasico matches. Pepe and Ramos both received red cards in these matches.

According to VNE