Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea emotionally responds to Real Madrid TV pressure before refereeing the Copa del Rey final.Copa del Rey final referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea welled up before Saturday’s match when speaking about pressure officials have faced from Real Madrid TV this season.
Madrid take on rivals Barcelona in the Spanish cup final in Seville and this week the club’s television channel launched a video attacking the official, as they have done to various referees this season.
Los Blancos also published an open letter in February claiming Spanish refereeing was “rigged” and “completely discredited”.
“When a child of yours goes to school and there are kids telling him that his father is a ‘thief’ and he comes home crying, it’s totally messed up,” De Burgos Bengoetxea told a news conference on Friday.
“What I do is try to educate my son, to say that his father is honest, above all honest, who can make mistakes, like any sportsperson,” he continued, becoming emotional.
“This is really messed up… but the day I leave (the job), I want my son to be proud of what his father is, and what refereeing is; it has given us many values.”
Real Madrid’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti, front left, speaks with referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea during a Spanish LaLiga match in May 2023 (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz/AP]
Wiping away tears, the 39-year-old called for deeper thought on the issue of referee abuse. Advertisement
“It’s not right what we are going through, many colleagues, and not just i …
