Real Madrid's official channel launched a sharp attack following the announcement of a four-match ban for Brazilian Vinicius Junior, in the wake of his sending-off against Villarreal in La Liga, arguing that what the club endures in the domestic competition bears no resemblance to what it faces in European competitions.
The broadside landed during the build-up to Wednesday evening's clash between Roma and Real Madrid. Presenters made no attempt to hide their fury at the punishment handed to the Brazilian, taking aim at Spanish refereeing, the country's football institutions and the media.
Real Madrid's channel: this is war
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", one of the channel's presenters opened his comment on the punishment by saying: "And now, about Vinicius, well, nothing. This is war", a nod to the escalating dispute between the Spanish club and the bodies running Spanish football.
Refereeing decisions were only the start. Presenters also accused media outlets of taking financial support from La Liga president Javier Tebas, recalling earlier demands from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez for the nature and value of that assistance to be disclosed.
Sarcastically, they wondered whether some of the outlets pocketing that support were the same ones forever criticising Real Madrid's performances and insisting the team is playing badly, while turning a blind eye to what they regard as an institutional campaign against the club.
Real Madrid, they added, must battle all of this in Spanish competition. In Europe, they argued, the picture is completely different.
A comparison between Spanish and European refereeing
That criticism led the channel to contrast how Vinicius is treated in La Liga with how he is treated in European competitions. The challenges he faces in Spain, they said, draw nothing like the same response on the continent, where offences get punished properly.
European competitions under the UEFA umbrella carry no pre-set refereeing agendas, the channel insisted, before mocking the fact that Real Madrid's games in the continental tournament are never handed to Spanish referees.
Letting Spanish officials take charge of those European ties would have been "highly interesting", the presenters said. The phrase laid bare just how little the channel trusts domestic refereeing.
"Vinicius does not receive enough protection"
Defence of the Brazilian continued, with the channel arguing he is denied the degree of protection handed to other stars, a nod to what it sees as a disparity in how players are treated on Spanish pitches.
Barcelona got a parting shot too. "I can't imagine something like this happening at the Camp Nou", the presenters said, a line loaded with doubt over whether Spanish football really treats its biggest clubs the same way.
All of this follows the decision to ban Vinicius for four matches, which has pushed Real Madrid into lodging an appeal in the hope of reducing the punishment. Controversy over the incident keeps building, and so do the questions about the team's preparations for the matches ahead, chief among them the Clasico against Barcelona.