Real Madrid express denial on boycott rumours ahead of finals of the Copa del rey against Barcelona this weekend.
Real Madrid express denial that they considered Copa del Rey final boycott over referee.
Just 24 hours before kickoff, Madrid eventually announced in a statement that they would play on Friday night around 10 p.m.
Following remarks made by referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the lead-up to the match, Madrid had already issued a statement calling on the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to take action. This followed Madrid’s refusal to attend the pregame news conference, training session, or management photocall at Seville’s Cartuja Stadium. Late on Friday night, Madrid eventually confirmed their presence in the match, despite suggestions from the club’s own media that they were considering not going.
“Faced by the rumours that have emerged in the last few hours, Real Madrid wish to communicate that our team has never proposed renouncing playing in tomorrow’s final,” the statement said. “Our club understands that the unfortunate and inappropriate declarations made by the referees assigned to this game, made 24 hours before the final, cannot stain a sporting event of global significance which millions of people will watch.”
Madrid were acting “out of respect to all those fans who have travelled to Seville and those that are already in the Andalucían capital,” concluding that “the values of football should prevail, despite the hostility and animosity of that has today once again been made clear against our club, by the referees assigned to the final.”
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”.
Madrid would have been suspended from the competition for a year and fined between €3,000 and €12,000 if they hadn’t shown up. After waiting for a clasico final for eleven years, the referee was the centre of attention when it finally arrived in Seville.
De Burgos Bengoetxea and González Fuertes discussed the club’s frequent criticism of officials on their TV channel during a pregame press conference, which infuriated Madrid. Both men, who were thrust into the spotlight and made the preview’s main characters, seemed to have arrived with a message to convey just 24 hours prior to the match. González Fuertes cautioned about the effect on young officials when asked about the pressure they are under, particularly from Real Madrid TV.
Madrid informed them that they would not be taking part in any pre-match events, according to RFEF’s later confirmation.
After the press conference and what they saw to be a conflict of interest, Madrid sought the Federation to remove De Burgos Bengoetxea from his refereeing duties. However, they made no explicit or public demands for it to occur, and the first of their two comments that followed fell short of outright reiterating that threat.
“Real Madrid express 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.”