Real Madrid have branded comments made by match officials set to take charge of their Copa del Rey final against Barcelona “unacceptable” after the referee broke down in tears at a press conference.
Real Madrid have branded comments made by match officials set to take charge of their Copa del Rey final against Barcelona “unacceptable” after the referee broke down in tears at a press conference.
The reigning LaLiga champions suggested that VAR Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes and referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea should be removed from Saturday’s El Clasico in Seville in a strongly worded statement. Real later announced they had “never considered refusing to play” the silverware showdown at Estadio La Cartuja in response to media “rumours”.
De Burgos Bengoetxea, who was born in Bilbao, wept in front of the media when he talked about the pressure that Real’s television channel has put on referees. The 39-year-old is the latest in a line of officials to be criticised on Real Madrid TV this season.
A video released this week pointed out the win percentages of Barca and Real when he has taken charge of their games, the fact he has never refereed in the Champions League or FIFA tournaments and his supposed mistakes.
During an emotional press conference, De Burgos Bengoetxea stated that “it’s not right what we are going through,” and VAR Gonzalez Fuertes warned officials that the broadcasts could result in disciplinary action.
Real seemingly boycotted their official media appointments on Friday before complaining of “clear and manifest animosity and hostility” towards the club from referees.
A statement on the club’s website read, “Real Madrid CF considers the public statements made today by the referees designated for the Copa del Rey final to be unacceptable.” “These protests, which have surprisingly focused attention on videos from a media outlet protected by freedom of expression like Real Madrid
TV, which were intentionally carried out 24 hours earlier against one of the participants in the final, demonstrate, once again, the clear and manifest animosity and hostility of these referees toward Real Madrid. “Even more surprising statements 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. These statements were made in a tone that was even more threatening and alluded to the unity of the referees.
Real seemingly boycotted their official media appointments on Friday before complaining of “clear and manifest animosity and hostility” towards the club from referees.
“Given the seriousness of what occurred, Real Madrid hopes that those in charge of the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) and the refereeing body will act in accordance, adopting the necessary measures to defend the prestige of the institutions they represent,” reads the statement. In a formal letter to RFEF and Spain’s High Council for Sports in February, Real claimed that Spanish refereeing was “rigged” and “completely discredited.” RFEF later brought up the issue of referee abuse and cited Jose Munuera Montero’s red card of Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, an England international. Munuera Montero faced backlash for his decision. With tensions running high, Carlo Ancelotti’s men go into the final seeking to salvage an underwhelming campaign.
With five games remaining, Real is four points behind Barcelona in LaLiga and Arsenal
eliminated them from the Champions League last week. This season, Barca defeated Real Madrid by scores of 4-0 and 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia,
respectively. Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has backed Ferran Torres to fill the void left by injured top scorer Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski, who has scored 40 goals this season across all competitions, is out with a thigh injury from last weekend’s 4-3 win over Celta Vigo.
