On the eve of the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, a storm erupted between Real and the match officials, throwing preparations into chaos and casting a shadow over Spanish football’s showpiece event. The dramatic turn of events unfolded after Real Madrid accused the final’s refereeing team of harbouring “animosity and hostility” towards the club, following an emotional press conference by match referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.
The referee broke down in tears while responding to a critical compilation aired on Real Madrid TV (RMTV), which highlighted what it described as a series of officiating errors made by De Burgos throughout his career. The club, stunned by the referee’s public response, subsequently boycotted all pre-final media obligations, a decision it described as stemming from “unprecedented astonishment.”
While the Spanish media heavily reported that Real considered boycotting the final, too, the club later confirmed that it had no such intentions.
A Real Madrid source told Reuters that the press conference represented “a clear conflict of interest” and said the club believed the refereeing team should be changed, though they had not formally requested replacements.
Later in the evening, Real issued a strongly worded statement, defending RMTV’s video under the banner of free speech and doubling down on their concerns about bias. “RMTV is protected by freedom of expression,” the club said. “The match referees had a clear and manifest animosity and hostility… against Real Madrid.”
Real urged the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and its Refereeing Committee to step in: “In view of the seriousness of what has happened, Real Madrid hope that those in charge… will act accordingly, adopting the corresponding measures in defence of the prestige of the institutions they represent.”
Referee’s remarks
In an emotional moment, De Burgos told reporters, “When a child arrives at school and his mates tell him that his father is a thief, it makes you sick.” Defending his integrity, he continued, “What I do is try to educate my son to tell him that his father is an honest man, that he makes mistakes like any other sportsman. It’s very hard, I don’t recommend it to anyone.”
He called on Spanish football to reflect: “It is not right what we are going through for many colleagues… Let everyone reflect on where we want to go, on what we want from sport and from football.”
VAR official Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, sitting beside De Burgos, hinted at collective action from referees. “In a few days you all will see. We are going to make history and we are not going to continue to put up with what we are putting up with. A strike? You will have news from us soon.”
Real described these remarks as “threatening” and inconsistent with the impartiality expected before such a major fixture.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick also weighed in, urging empathy and balance: “For me, it’s only a sport. It’s only a game. It’s only football… It is our responsibility to protect not only the players but all the people involved in the game.”
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