Referees say enough is enough to Real Madrid TV's videos due to media harassment: "They have put a target on our heads"

Real Madrid TV's media pressure campaign has added a new victim. This time, the target of the criticism has been Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, designated to officiate the Clásico in the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The official channel of the merengue team has launched one of its usual videos against the Basque judge, whom it accused of having a low refereeing level and compiles past decisions that supposedly harmed the Chamartín team.

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De Burgos Bengoetxea, forceful against Real Madrid TV's criticism against him

On this occasion, De Burgos Bengoetxea has had the opportunity to defend himself publicly. Thanks to the initiative of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which organizes a press conference for the referees who will officiate the final, the Bilbao referee did not avoid the issue and decided to raise his voice against the attacks received.

At first, he was cautious: "It is indifferent to me, usually they are always harmful criticisms against the establishment and against me. I have to look at my own navel and know what I have to keep improving."

However, when asked again about the impact of these videos, De Burgos Bengoetxea was sincere and revealed, visibly moved, the personal and family damage caused by this type of campaign. "When your son goes to school and they tell him that his father is a 'thief' and he comes home crying, it's very fucked up. What I do is try to educate my son to tell him that his father is honest, that he makes mistakes like any other athlete. It's very fucked up, I don't recommend it to anyone. The day I leave here, I want my son to be proud of what his father was and what refereeing is, which has given us many values," he began by saying.

🎙️ "What I do is try to educate my son to tell him that he is honest, but that he makes mistakes like any other person".

➡️ "I want my son to be proud of what his father is".

🗣️ Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea, main referee.#CopaDelReyMAPFRE | #LaCopaMola🏆 pic.twitter.com/GzxSTCsvl9

— RFEF (@rfef) April 25, 2025

In turn, the Basque called for collective reflection. "There is no right with what many colleagues are going through, not only in professional football, but also in grassroots football. Let everyone reflect on where we want to go, what we want, from sport and football," he concluded.

González Fuertes also raised his voice against the harassment campaign suffered by Spanish refereeing

De Burgos Bengoetxea was not the only one to speak out. His colleague in the final and head of VAR, Pablo González Fuertes, also harshly denounced the consequences of media attacks: "The consequences of the videos cause anonymous social networks to insult and threaten. Official Community Managers who act against our group, it is given to think that we are not honest."

González Fuertes stressed the impact that these campaigns have even on grassroots football: "The problem is that when we refer to communicators, football agents who talk about robbery or foul language, the fan pays the frustration with the boy or girl who has to referee a children's game. It is the consequence of putting a target on the head. We want to return to a cleaner and healthier football. One day we will have a real problem, who will take care of this problem? We have to rethink the belligerence towards us."

Possible measures of the refereeing group in this situation?

The Asturian referee warned of future actions in the face of this escalation of hostility: "The team of professional referees are more united than ever, I suppose because of the circumstances that surround us. We endorse the union with our president, Luis Medina, we must preserve the establishment. We will have to take measures and we are not going to continue allowing what is happening, on certain dates you will have news of what will happen. We will make history with what we will do." Although he did not confirm whether it will be a strike or another specific measure, he made clear the weariness of the refereeing group.

Turning point in media pressure?

The atmosphere surrounding Spanish refereeing seems to have hit rock bottom. More and more referees are daring to publicly denounce the harassment campaigns they suffer, especially from official club media. Will measures be taken by the competent bodies to stop this drift? For now, there are no clear answers, but there is one certainty: the referees have started to say enough is enough.

THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF RICARDO DE BURGOS BENGOETXEA AND PABLO GONZÁLEZ FUERTES, IN FULL: