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Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, the referee for the Copa del Rey final, became emotional on Friday as he spoke about the pressure officials have faced this season from Real Madrid TV.
Real Madrid will face Barcelona in the Spanish Cup final on Saturday in Seville. This week, the club’s television channel aired a video attacking de Burgos Bengoetxea, which is part of a pattern of criticism from the club’s media platform towards various referees throughout the season. In February, Real Madrid also published an open letter accusing Spanish refereeing of being “rigged” and “completely discredited.”
De Burgos Bengoetxea shared how the pressure has affected him personally, revealing that his young son had been targeted by schoolmates who called his father a “thief” due to the public criticism. The 39-year-old referee struggled to hold back tears as he reflected on the emotional toll.
“When your child goes to school and other kids call him and say your father is a ‘thief’, and he comes home crying, it’s totally messed up,” he said during a news conference. “What I do is try to educate my son, to tell him that his father is honest, above all honest, who can make mistakes, like any sportsman.”
The referee, wiping away tears, expressed the emotional strain of such public attacks, emphasising his commitment to the values of honesty and integrity. “This is really messed up,” he continued. “But the day I leave this job, I want my son to be proud of what his father has done and for refereeing to be seen for the values it has given us.”
He also spoke out about the broader issue of referee abuse, stressing the need for reflection on the treatment of officials at all levels of football. “It’s not right what we are going through, many colleagues, and not just in professional football, but also at grassroots level,” de Burgos Bengoetxea added. “Everyone should reflect on where we want to go, about what we want from sport and from football.”
Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, the referee in charge of VAR for the final, suggested that officials might take further action over the criticism from Real Madrid TV in the near future.
“Have no doubt that we are going to have to start taking much more serious measures than we are taking,” said Gonzalez Fuertes. “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.”
