Marca has referenced Jimmy Savile in an astonishing attack on the BBC's coverage on Real Madrid "scapegoat" Gareth Bale.

An article was published by the BBC on Friday - prior to Bale's double against Levante last night - suggesting the Spanish newspaper has a campaign to force the £86m forward out of Madrid. In turn, Marca has now responded with an article slamming the BBC, even bringing up the alleged cover-up of the Savile scandal and the recent shameful scenes of hooliganism that have blighted British football.

The Madrid daily posted the article this morning responding to a piece on BBC's website which was titled: "Gareth Bale: The 'Lazy Loner' under fire at Real Madrid'.

The BBC's Spanish football writer Andy West wrote of Marca's "vicious attack" on the 25-year-old Welshman, and added that "the overall message is clear: Marca want Bale out. Marca have decided to make Bale the victim."

Marca has now hit back at the BBC with a firm denial that it was campaigning to get rid of Bale.

The article about the "demise" of the BBC had the headline "Hooligans on the BBC" in the Spanish version, and "The BBC's reprehensiBale smear campaign" in the translated version on Marca's English website.

It begins with talk of falling standards of the organisation: "The BBC has veered off the course that made it a byword for quality journalism throughout the 20th century."

And then says the "demise has been made evident through incidents both great and small". The small being the recent mix-up of Italian and Bulgarian flags on their coverage of a Six Nations match, and the great a shocking reference to the Savlile sexual abuse scandal. "The alleged cover-up of the sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by one of the BBC's former stars, presenter Jimmy Savile, is obviously of a far more serious nature."

Top 10 most expensive players ever Show all 10 1 /10 Top 10 most expensive players ever Top 10 most expensive players ever Gareth Bale - £86million Tottenham to Real Madrid (2013) - Bale became the world's most expensive player ever when he made the switch from Spurs to Spain. GETTY IMAGES Top 10 most expensive players ever Cristiano Ronaldo - £80m Manchester United to Real Madrid (2009) - Ronaldo smashed the record transfer fee when he left Old Trafford. GETTY IMAGES Top 10 most expensive players ever Luis Suarez - £75m Liverpool to Barcelona (2014) - The Reds cut ties with Suarez after the 2014 World Cup making a £50m profit. Barcelona FC Top 10 most expensive players ever Neymar - £71.5m Santos to Barcelona (2013) - The Brazilian finally completed his long awaited move to Europe after a complex deal. Getty Images Top 10 most expensive players ever James Rodriguez - £63m Monaco to Real Madrid (2014) - After a superb World Cup showing, the Colombian became Real's latest big money signing. Top 10 most expensive players ever Zlatan Ibrahimovic - £59m Inter Milan to Barcelona (2009) - The Swed only spent two seasons at the Nou Camp despite his mammoth price-tag. GETTY IMAGES Top 10 most expensive players ever Kaka - £56m AC Milan to Real Madrid (2009) - The Brazilian joined in the same summer as Ronaldo but failed to make a real impact at the Bernabeu. GETTY IMAGES Top 10 most expensive players ever Edinson Cavani - £55m Napoli to PSG (2013) - The Uruguayan's deal made him the most expensive player ever purchased by a French team. Getty Images Top 10 most expensive players ever Zinedine Zidane - £53m Juventus to Real Madrid (2001) - Became the world's most expensive player when he moved to the Bernabeu and more than paid it back, particularly with his spectacular goal in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen. AFP/Getty Top 10 most expensive players ever Radamel Falcao - £51m Atletico Madrid to Monaco (2013) - The newly funded Monaco signalled their intent by signing the Colombian. Getty Images

Marca then added the BBC's article was "misguided" and wrote that West's accusations were "wholly unfounded and unjust".

The piece ends with Marca saying it does "not engage in campaigns" and the BBC "no longer informs its readers".

"For the record, Marca does not engage in campaigns; it informs readers. Rigorously. Something that apparently can no longer be said of the BBC who, like ITV, seem now to be all about drama."