ajnotkeith
Senior Member
Will be difficult to argue that is defamation. Part of proving defamation is proving how the statements are received by the general public and what context they were made in.You can't hide everything behind an opinion, especially if you're an official broadcaster under EU rules. But nobody cares enough to fight a costly war against them before a court in many instances probably, especially if Madrid will finance their side, so they can keep going.
In this instance they are accusing the referees of bias which is exceptionally common across the footballing world and generally not considered to be a statement of fact, most neutral observers would not consider their claim to be a fact and would understand such accusations are common in football.