SEVILLE, Spain: Preparations for the Copa del Rey final were thrown into turmoil on Friday when Real Madrid accused the match referees of having “animosity and hostility” toward them and called on the Spanish FA to take action.
Real had boycotted pre-match activities ahead of Saturday’s final against Barcelona after the match referee gave an emotional press conference in which he called out the club for criticizing him on their in-house TV channel.
A club source told Reuters that the decision to pull out of their pre-match obligations was taken due to Real’s “unprecedented astonishment” at the press conference given by referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea earlier on Friday. The referee had broken down in tears while responding to a critical video put out by RMTV.
The source said Real saw the press conference as “a clear conflict of interest” and, while they had not asked the Spanish FA (RFEF) to replace the officials, they believed the refereeing team should be changed.
Real issued a statement later on Friday in which they defended RMTV as “protected by freedom of expression” and said the match referees had a “clear and manifest animosity and hostility... against Real Madrid.”
“In view of the seriousness of what has happened, Real Madrid hope that those in charge of the RFEF and the Refereeing Committee will act accordingly, adopting the corresponding measures in defense of the prestige of the institutions they represent,” the club added.
RFEF president Rafael Louzan told reporters that he would not comment on Real’s statement nor on whether they would change the final’s referees, calling “for calm, responsibility and common sense” from all parts.
The video, released on Thursday, showed what RMTV said was a series of errors made by De Burgos throughout his career.
The release was the latest in a string of edits by RMTV, criticizing Spanish officials.
’MAKES YOU SICK’
De Burgos expressed his distress during the press conference, saying: “When a child arrives at school and his mates tell him that his father is a thief, it makes you sick.”
He went on to emphasize his integrity and the challenges faced by many officials, in professional football and at grassroots level.
“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.
“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.”
Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, the VAR official for Saturday’s final who was seated next to De Burgos, said referees would soon take action due to the continuous pressure they faced.
“In a few days you all will see,” he said. “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 said in their statement that Fuertes’s comments had been made “in a threatening tone” and were “far removed from the principles of fairness, objectivity and impartiality that should prevail just a few hours before a football event.”
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said on Friday that action should be taken to protect referees.
“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,” Flick told a press conference.
In February, the RFEF highlighted referees’ concerns over abuse, citing the case of official Jose Munuera Montero who faced a backlash after issuing a red card to Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham.
A few weeks earlier, Real had also lodged a letter of complaint against the Spanish referees following their 1-0 defeat by Espanyol.
