Real Madrid have denied that they ever considered refusing to play the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona after they boycotted the pre-match activities, prompting uncertainty that the game would go ahead. A statement from Madrid finally confirmed that they would play after 10pm on Friday night, just 24 hours before kick-off.
A previous statement from Madrid had demanded that the Spanish football federation (RFEF) take action after comments made by the referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the buildup to the game. That came after Madrid had refused to show up for the pre-match press conference, training session or the managers’ photocall at the Cartuja Stadium in Seville. Amid reports from media close to the club that they were contemplating refusing to play the match, Madrid finally confirmed their participation late on Friday night.
“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.”
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
The statement said that 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 statement finally brought to an end a long evening of uncertainty. Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric were scheduled to speak to the media at 7.15pm local time in Seville but, with the media waiting for them, they did not show.
There was no announcement at the time and Madrid did not directly explain the decision later. Nor did they admit to asking the RFEF to remove De Burgos Bengoetxea or the VAR official Pablo González Fuertes. But a statement released an hour later described the referees’ remarks as “premeditated”, using a “threatening tone” and demonstrating a “manifest hostility” towards Real Madrid.
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”.
Had Madrid not shown up, they would have faced a year-long ban from the competition and a fine of between €3,000 and €12,000. Eleven years they have waited for a clasico final and when at last it came, it was the referee in the spotlight when it fell upon Seville.
Madrid had been angered by a pre-match press conference in which De Burgos Bengoetxea and González Fuertes talked about the club’s repeated criticism of referees on their TV channel. Pushed centre stage and exposed, made protagonists of the preview, both men appeared to have come with a message to deliver 24 hours before the game. Asked about the pressure they are under, especially from Real Madrid TV, González Fuertes warned of the impact on young officials, and said that stronger actions had to be taken.
De Burgos Bengoetxea meanwhile was close to tears as he recounted the impact it has on his children. “When a child goes to school and people tell him his father is a thief it’s messed up,” the official said, his voice breaking. “All I can do is educate my son so that he knows that his father is honourable, show him what refereeing is, and for everyone to reflect on where we want to go; I would like you all to know, it is very hard.”
González Fuertes said said: “More than what is said [in the videos], it’s the consequences of what is said. We see anonymous people on social media insulting and threatening referees without any control, those responsible for clubs’ social media continuously attacking us. The consequences of talking about robberies and using bad words, that frustration you create among fans, is something that the boys and girls who pick up a whistle to do a kids’ game end up paying for. That is the consequence of putting a target on a colleague’s head. We’re not going to allow it to keep happening.”
That was the first press conference of the day. Barcelona’s press conferences were at 5.15pm, during which Hansi Flick had said: “We need the referees.” Madrid were due to appear two hours later. But, as they had done with the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October, they did not show up, cancelling everything. There would be no press conference, no training session and no handshake between the coaches, accompanied by the trophy. The president, Florentino Pérez, had already decided not to attend any of the institutional events.
The RFEF subsequently confirmed that Madrid had told them that they would not be participating in any pre-match activities.
Madrid wanted the Federation to remove De Burgos Bengoetxea from refereeing duties, considering his position untenable following the press conference and what they saw as a conflict of interests. But they did not directly or publicly demand for that to happen and the first of their two subsequent statements stopped short of repeating that threat openly. Instead, their position had been expressed through the media close to the club hierarchy, which also leaked the possibility of them not turning up for the match.
“Real Madrid CF considers 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.”
The RFEF insisted that it would not change the referees and that it expected the game to go ahead but conversations continued and the wait for confirmation went on into the evening until Madrid announced that they had never contemplated boycotting. Ancelotti was not in the press room at La Cartuja at 7.15pm local time, but his team will be out on the pitch at 10pm on Saturday night.
