Real Madrid avoided historic sanction: What would have happened If they hadn't played the Cup Final?

Leading up to the 2025 Copa del Rey final at the La Cartuja Stadium, Real Madrid adopted an unusual stance in protest against the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) following statements from the referees designated for the match who criticized videos from Real Madrid TV.

The club refused to participate in institutional events including the press conference, pre-match training, and official dinner, and even considered not playing the final against FC Barcelona.

What would have happened if Real Madrid hadn't shown up for the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona?

According to the RFEF's disciplinary regulations, a no-show would have meant elimination from the tournament and replacement by the last team eliminated by the offending team, in this case Real Sociedad, in addition to the absent team's exclusion from the next edition of the Cup.

Miguel Galán, President of the National Training Center for Coaches (CENAFE) and expert in sports law, published on his official account on the social network "X", the possible consequences and sanctions that Real Madrid faced.

Miguel Galán's Publication:

In the event that, at the start time of the Copa del Rey final, Real Madrid CF had not appeared, the referee should have followed the guidelines established in the RFEF competition regulations.

What do the General Regulations and the Disciplinary Code of the RFEF say?

The General Regulations of the RFEF define the obligations that clubs must fulfill, specifying that participants must be present at the stadium one hour in advance for non-professional competitions and one and a half hours for professional competitions. In addition, it warns that:

"teams that decide not to travel to the location where the match takes place with sufficient advance notice, which prevents the start of the match at the established time or causes its suspension, will be sanctioned by the corresponding disciplinary bodies"

Continuing with the review of the regulations, the Disciplinary Code of the RFEF @rfef establishes the following in article 80 in case of no-show:

• "a) If the competition is by knockout rounds, the team that fails to appear or withdraws will be considered to have lost the phase in question; if the no-show occurs in the final, the match will be played between the other finalist and the team that was eliminated by the offender.

In any case, the team that fails to appear or withdraws may not participate in the next edition of the tournament."

This protocol has a precedent in the year 2000 with FC Barcelona, which was initially sanctioned but later pardoned. Finally, Real Madrid decided to play the final, thus avoiding the serious consequences.