A major victory for President Madrid Perez: the Spanish Supreme Court confirmed the decision of a lower court, condemning the newspaper El Confidencial and its editor, Ignacio Cardero. The case relates to the publication by the newspaper, in 2021, of a series of private audio recordings, made secretly years ago without the consent of Perez. These explosive recordings contained frank and very critical remarks of the president against the legends of the club like Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he described as “idiot”, Iker Casillas and Raúl – “the two greatest impostors”, and José Mourinho, then coach, described as “fool”, among others.
The Spanish Supreme Court made a final judgment against El Confidencial.
The decision of the Supreme Court did not only relate to the content of the recordings, but to the newspaper's intention to publish them. The judge explicitly declared that El Confidential had “exceeded the limits of his freedom of information”, arguing that the objective was not to inform, but to “undermine the public image of Mr. Florentino Perez Rodríguez”. The Court estimated that it was a manifest attempt at defamation, which cannot be protected under the guise of press freedom. This legal battle began shortly after the failure of the controversial European Super League project in 2021, Perez himself suggesting that the time of leaks was a form of reprisals for his project management.
The case stems from a series of audio recordings disclosed in 2021.
This decision concludes a long judicial journey which saw three different Spanish courts – the Madrid court of first instance, the provincial hearing and finally the Supreme Court – to pronounce in favor of Perez. El Confidencial and Cardero have been ordered to definitively cease any dissemination of recordings, which means that they can no longer be published or reproduced in any form whatsoever. In addition, they must publish the court's decision in several major Spanish newspapers, including Marca, AS and El Pais, as well as in their own publications, within 15 days. The court ordered symbolic compensation of only 1 euro and asked the newspaper to cover the costs of the trial.
The court's decision will probably have a deterrent effect on future publications of secretly registered documents, forcing the media to greater caution. This affair marks the beginning of a new era where public figures, even as eminent as Perez, have a powerful legal tool to protect their private conversations against any use for discreditable purposes.
