Real Madrid have dismissed suggestions that they considered boycotting their Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Saturday evening due to comments made by the match referee.
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea and Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, the on-field and VAR referees for the Copa del Rey final, slammed Madrid’s own TV channel during their pre-match press conference on Friday.
De Burgos Bengoetxea, who broke down in tears, accused Madrid’s TV channel of pressurising officials in Spain.
‘When a child of yours goes to school and there are kids telling him that his father is a ‘thief’ and comes home crying, it’s totally messed up,’ he said.
‘What I do is try to educate my son, to say that his father is honest, above all honest, who can make mistakes, like any sportsperson.’
De Burgos Bengoetxea went on to add: ‘It’s not right what we are going through, many colleagues, and not just in professional football, but also at grassroots level.
‘Everyone should reflect about where we want to go, about what we want from sport and from football.’
Fuertes said: ‘Have no doubt that we are going to have to start taking much more serious measures than we are taking.
‘We will not continue to allow what is happening. Soon, you will hear from us.
‘We are going to make history, because we are not going to continue to bear what we are putting up with.’
Madrid are furious with the comments made by the two officials and have refused to take part in an open training session and their pre-match press conference.
Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez has also refused to attend the dinner hosted by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Friday night.
A statement released by Madrid on Friday read: ‘Real Madrid CF considers the public statements made today by the referees designated for the Copa del Rey Final, scheduled to be held tomorrow, April 26, 2025, to be unacceptable.
‘These protests, which have surprisingly focused attention on videos from a media outlet protected by freedom of expression, such as Real Madrid TV, deliberately carried out 24 hours earlier against one of the final’s participants, demonstrate, once again, the clear and manifest animosity and hostility of these referees toward Real Madrid.
‘Even more surprising statements, in a threatening tone, alluding to the referees’ unity, were used to announce alleged measures or actions that fall far short of the principles of fairness, objectivity, and impartiality that should prevail just hours before a football event that captures the attention of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
‘Given the seriousness of what happened, Real Madrid hopes that those responsible for the RFEF and the refereeing body will act accordingly, adopting the necessary measures to defend the prestige of the institutions they represent.’
Madrid then followed up with a second statement in response to reports that they were considering the prospect of not playing in the final against Barcelona.
‘Faced by the rumours that have emerged in the last few hours, Real Madrid wish to communicate that our team has never proposed renouncing playing in tomorrow’s final,’ the statement said.
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‘Our club understands that the unfortunate and inappropriate declarations made by the referees assigned to this game, made 24 hours before the final, cannot stain a sporting event of global significance which millions of people will watch.’
When asked about the comments made by the match officials, Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said: ‘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.
‘It’s not nice that happened today. Of course, sometimes on the pitch there are some decisions that are about emotion but after the match, we should be done with it. Something must be done.’
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