Real Madrid may boycott Copa del Rey final over referee comments

Just 24 hours before kick-off, the Copa del Rey final was at risk of not going ahead after Real Madrid demanded that the Spanish football federation (RFEF) take action following comments made by the referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the buildup to the game.

Although Madrid did not explicitly ask for the official to be removed from his duties nor publicly threaten to boycott the match, they refused to turn up for the pre-match press conference, their training session or the managers’ photocall and did not rule out a no-show on Saturday evening.

Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric were scheduled to speak to the media at 7.15pm local time in Seville but, with journalists waiting for them, they did not show. There was no announcement at the time and Madrid did not explain the decision later.

Nor did they admit to asking the RFEF to remove De Burgos Bengoetxea or the video assistant referee Pablo González Fuertes. But a statement released an hour later described their remarks as “premeditated”, using a “threatening tone” and demonstrating a “manifest hostility” towards Real Madrid.

The club accused the referees of “announcing supposed actions which are far from the principles of equality, objectivity and impartiality which should prevail a few hours before a footballing event followed by millions of people around the world”.

On Friday evening, they were considering their position, including the possibility of not turning up. “I am calm; the final will be played,” the Federation president, Rafael Louzán, insisted just before 9pm. On his way into a pre-event dinner soon after, the president of the referees’ committee, Luis Medina Cantalejo, said they were working towards the game going ahead. Madrid did not attend.

If Madrid do not show, they would face a year-long ban from the competition and a fine between €3,000 and €12,000 (£10,200). Eleven years they have waited for a clasico final and when at last it came, it was the referee in the spotlight, with another episode in Madrid’s war against officials.

Madrid had had been angered by a pre-match press conference in which De Burgos Bengoetxea and González Fuertes talked about the club’s repeated criticism of referees on their TV channel. Pushed centre stage and exposed, made protagonists of the preview, both men appeared to have come with a message to deliver 24 hours before the game.

Real Madrid remonstrate with referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in 2023. Photograph: Jose Breton/AP

Asked about the pressure they are under, especially from Real Madrid TV, González Fuertes warned of the impact on young officials, and said that stronger actions had to be taken. De Burgos Bengoetxea meanwhile cried as he recounted the impact it has had on his children.

“Real Madrid CF considers the public statements made today by the referees appointed for the Copa del Rey final to be unacceptable,” the club said in a statement. “These remarks made in a premeditated manner, 24 hours before [kick-off and] against one of the participants in the final demonstrate, once again, a clear and manifest animosity and hostility against Real Madrid.

“Given the seriousness of what happened, Real Madrid expects the RFEF and the refereeing establishment to act accordingly, adopting the relevant measures in defence of the institutions that they represent.”

De Burgos Bengoetxea had been visibly upset when he spoke to the media earlier in the day. “When a child goes to school and people tell him his father is a thief it’s messed up,” the official said, his voice breaking and seemingly close to tears. “All I can do is educate my son so that he knows that his father is honourable, show him what refereeing is, and for everyone to reflect on where we want to go; I would like you all to know, it is very hard.”

“More than what is said [in the videos], it’s the consequences of what is said,” González Fuertes said. “We see anonymous people on social media insulting and threatening referees without any control, those responsible for clubs’ social media continuously attacking us. The consequences of talking about robberies and using bad words, that frustration you create among fans, is something that the boys and girls who pick up a whistle to do a kids’ game end up paying for. That is the consequence of putting a target on a colleague’s head. We’re not going to allow it to keep happening.”

That was the first press conference of the day. Barcelona’s press conferences were at 5.15pm, during which Hansi Flick had said “we need the referees”. Madrid were due to appear two hours later. But, as they had done with the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October, they did not show up, cancelling everything. There would be no press conference, no training session, and no handshake between the coaches, accompanied by the trophy. The president, Florentino Pérez, had already decided not to attend any of the institutional events.

The RFEF subsequently confirmed that Madrid had told them that they would not be participating in any prematch activities.

The president of the league Javi Tebas tweeted: “This is not football, this is about power.” In a message clearly directed at Pérez, he wrote: “So thin-skinned. He doesn’t protest, he pressures. He doesn’t complain, he threatens. He doesn’t disagree, he punishes. He doesn’t want to improve football, he wants his football. And the worst thing of all is not that he tries this. The worst thing is that many let him, accommodate him and help him.”

Madrid wanted the Federation to remove De Burgos Bengoetxea from refereeing duties, considering his position untenable following the press conference and what they saw as a conflict of interests, but did not directly or publicly demand for that to happen. The subsequent statement stopped short of repeating that threat openly.

Instead, their position had been expressed through the media close to the club hierarchy, which also leaked the possibility of them not turning up for the match. Carlo Ancelotti was due in the press room at La Cartuja at 7.15pm local time, but no one came. His team is due on the Cartuja pitch for a 10pm kick-off on Saturday night.