The referee for this weekend’s Copa del Rey final was brought to tears when responding to a critical video published by Real Madrid’s in-house TV channel, RMTV.
The video, released on Thursday, shows what RMTV says is a series of errors made by Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea throughout his career and is the latest in a string of edits by RMTV that criticises Spanish officials.
Bengoetxea, who will take charge of Real Madrid’s final with Barcelona on Saturday, expressed his distress during a press conference.
He said: “When a child arrives at school and his mates tell him that his father is a thief, it makes you sick.”
He went on to emphasise his integrity and the challenges faced by many officials, in professional football and at grassroots level.
“What I do is try to educate my son to tell him that his father is an honest man, that he makes mistakes like any other sportsman,” he added: “It’s very hard, I don’t recommend it to anyone.
“It is not right what we are going through for many colleagues, not only in professional football, but also in grassroots football. Let everyone reflect on where we want to go, on what we want from sport and from football.”
There was no immediate response from Real Madrid regarding Bengoetxea’s comments.
Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, the VAR official for Saturday’s final, said referees would soon take action due to the continuous pressure they face.
“We are going to start taking real action, we are not going to continue to allow what is happening,” he said.
“In a few days you all will see. We are going to make history and we are not going to continue to put up with what we are putting up with. A strike? You will have news from us soon.”
In February, the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) highlighted referees’ concerns over abuse, citing the case of official Jose Munuera Montero, who faced a backlash after issuing a red card to Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham.
A few weeks earlier, Real had also lodged a letter of complaint against the Spanish referees following their 1-0 defeat by Espanyol.
