The appointment of Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea as the referee for the 2025 Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona has sparked significant controversy, igniting debates among fans, clubs, and officials. This article dives into the key details of the controversy, its origins, and its impact on Spanish football, ensuring you\u2019re fully informed about this high-profile issue.<\/p>\n
The controversy erupted when Real Madrid TV, the club\u2019s official media channel, released a video on April 24, 2025, targeting de Burgos Bengoetxea. The three-and-a-half-minute compilation highlighted alleged errors in his past decisions, particularly in matches involving Real Madrid. It claimed that Real Madrid had a 64% win rate under de Burgos Bengoetxea, compared to Barcelona\u2019s 81%, suggesting a bias. The video also noted his lack of appointments in UEFA Champions League or FIFA tournaments, questioning his competence for a match of this magnitude.<\/p>\n
This move was not isolated. Real Madrid TV has a history of producing similar videos to critique referees before major games, a tactic critics argue is designed to pressure officials. The video\u2019s dramatic music and selective statistics amplified its impact, drawing widespread attention and criticism.<\/p>\n
On April 25, 2025, during a customary pre-final press conference organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), de Burgos Bengoetxea addressed the video. Visibly emotional, he broke down in tears while discussing the personal toll of the criticism. He recounted how his son faced bullying at school, with classmates calling him a \u201cthief\u201d due to the public attacks on his integrity. \u201cWhen your son comes home crying because kids say his father is a crook, it\u2019s really hard,\u201d he said, emphasizing his commitment to honesty despite the possibility of human error.<\/p>\n
Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez Fuertes, the appointed Video Assistant Referee (VAR), supported de Burgos Bengoetxea, condemning the ongoing attacks on referees. He warned that Spanish officials were prepared to take \u201cserious measures\u201d to address the issue, hinting at potential collective action. Their statements underscored the broader impact of such criticism, not only on professional referees but also on grassroots officials and their families.<\/p>\n
Real Madrid responded swiftly, labeling the referees\u2019 statements as \u201cunacceptable\u201d and accusing de Burgos Bengoetxea and Gonz\u00e1lez Fuertes of showing \u201cclear animosity and hostility\u201d toward the club. The club canceled its scheduled pre-match press conference and training session in Seville, escalating tensions. Reports surfaced that Real Madrid considered boycotting the final or requesting de Burgos Bengoetxea\u2019s removal, though the club later denied any intention to withdraw, confirming their participation just 24 hours before kickoff.<\/p>\n
The RFEF rejected any calls to replace de Burgos Bengoetxea, stating that no formal request for his removal had been made. Real Madrid\u2019s actions, including their absence from pre-game events, fueled speculation about their commitment to the match, raising concerns about the integrity of the final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The appointment of Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea as the referee for the 2025 Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":36568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2236,266],"class_list":["post-15269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-copa-del-rey","tag-real-madrid"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}