The class-less Clasico: Barcelona and Real Madrid are seriously sore losers who can't help blaming referees and conspiracy theories for defeats

In the extremely unlikely event that anyone has already forgotten, there was very real doubt over whether Madrid would even turn up for the previous Clasico, on April 26. Madrid refused to fulfil their pre-match media duties and there were reports in the Spanish press that they were actually considering boycotting the Copa del Rey final itself.

It seemed perfectly plausible, of course. Madrid have plenty of previous when it comes to throwing hissy fits. They refused to turn up for last year's Ballon d'Or awards ceremony when they learned that Vinicius wasn't going to win - arguably the most pathetic, petty, unjustified and unsporting protest the football world has ever seen.

Madrid insisted that they never entertained the idea of pulling out of the final - but that was only "out of respect to all those fans who have travelled to Seville and those that are already in the Andalucian capital". Why were they so upset then? Because of the alleged "hostility and animosity" shown towards the club by the "referees assigned to the final".

It has to be acknowledged that match referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea and VAR Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes should never have been allowed to speak to the media before a game. Such press conferences have been introduced by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in the interests of greater transparency, but the officials' comments were always going to cause controversy, given the pre-existing toxicity surrounding the Copa del Rey Clasico.

However, as both men were at pains to point out, Madrid - and, in particular, their poisonous in-house TV channel that pores over refereeing decisions on a daily basis - had played pivotal roles in the creation of said toxicity and they understandably welcomed the opportunity to speak out.

"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," Gonzalez Fuertes told reporters. "That is the consequence of putting a target on a colleague’s head."

De Burgos Bengoetxea spoke even more passionately - and movingly - about the devastating effects of the constant criticism of referees.

"When a child goes to school and people tell him his father is a thief it's messed up," the official said, struggling to contain his emotions. "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."

Depressingly, that plea for greater understanding has been ignored - and not just by Madrid.

Barca boss Hansi Flick came out strongly in support of referees while Madrid were going into meltdown ahead of the Copa final. "What's happening isn't right," he said. "We can't lose respect for referees. This is football, and it's our responsibility to protect everyone: players, coaches, and referees. On the pitch, there are emotions, but after the match, we must move on."

Flick struggled to follow his own advice at San Siro on Tuesday, though. "We think that the result is unfair because of some refereeing decisions, I have to say it," Flick said after a 4-3 loss to Inter that saw Barcelona eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals 7-6 on aggregate.

"I don't want to talk too much about the referee," Flick added, before continuing to talk about the referee. "But every decision that was 50-50 ended up being in their favour; that's what makes me sad."

What was truly sad, though, was that Flick felt compelled to confront Szymon Marciniak after the full-time whistle, as it only encouraged further whining from his players in their respective post-match interviews.

Ronaldo Araujo said Marciniak "influenced" the game, Eric Garcia brought up past grievances from games involving the Pole, while Pedri even went so far as to call for an investigation into Marciniak's handling of the second leg.

"It's not the first time that this has happened to us with this referee, so UEFA should look into it, as there are things that I don't understand and they are complicated to explain: all of the 50-50s went for them," the midfielder said, echoing his coach.

It was all nonsense, of course. Marciniak had actually missed Pau Cubarsi's foul on Lautaro Martinez during the first half and the penalty was only awarded because of the VAR, Dennis Higler, who was also responsible for overruling Marciniak's decision to give Barca a second-half spot-kick as the replays proved that Henrikh Mkhitaryan's foul on Lamine Yamal had actually taken place outside the area.

Barca's claim that Denzel Dumfries had fouled Gerard Martin before Inter's injury-time equaliser was also laughable - as was Inigo Martinez's insistence that he hadn't intentionally spat at Francesco Acerbi after Hakan Calhanoglou's successful penalty attempt. Indeed, for all Barca's b*tching and moaning, the biggest let-off of the night was their centre-back avoiding a straight red card for a disgusting and cowardly reaction to taunting.

Unsurprisingly, none of the big calls that went in Barca's favour were brought up by Flick, a significant number of his players or the vast majority of the Catalan press. The agenda had already been set for before kick-off, withSport claiming that Marciniak had a history of bias towards Madrid - a frankly libellous allegation that appeared to be solely based on a photograph of him standing beside a washbag adorned with the club's crest.

El Mundo Deportivo also ran with that narrative afterwards, claiming that Barca had been the victims of "robbery" because of the "scandalous refereeing of the 'Madridista'". In such a climate of hatred and hysteria, it's not in the least bit surprising that we saw yet more examples of what Gonzalez Fuertes called out in his pre-Copa press conference: "anonymous people on social media insulting and threatening referees without any control".

For the very same reason, it's very hard to hold any hope for Sunday's Clasico ending in anything other than bitterness and acrimony.

The conduct of several Real players during their Copa final loss to Barca was a disgrace, with Antonio Rudiger sent off - and subsequently suspended for six matches - for throwing an object at De Burgos Bengoetxea in the closing stages of the game. It was an utterly embarrassing way for a 32-year-old veteran of the game to behave, and yet entirely in keeping with the spoil-brat mentality at Madrid. There was even one undeniably glorious moment of unintentional irony earlier this season when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he was tired of other teams moaning about referees - while his employers were attacking the quality and character of Spanish officials.

Are Barcelona really any better than Los Blancos, though? The Blaugrana can often come off just as arrogant as their most hated rivals, with their once-inspirational 'mes que un club' motto now reading more like a nauseating statement of superiority rather than an inspirational symbol of the Catalan cause.

Joan Laporta's Barca have certainly created the impression that they feel as if they can do as they please and it's well worth remembering that the Blaugrana remain embroiled in their a refereeing scandal of their own, while at the same time continuing to wage war on La Liga over player registrations.

The immature reaction to Champions League heartbreak proves that Flick's young team have an awful lot to learn about being magnanimous in defeat, which is a real shame, given there's so much to love about how the German has got Yamal & Co. playing. They've been a joy to watch for so much of the season, a group of talented individuals all fully committed to one another and a thrilling brand of football that has already won them a Copa del Rey, and put them in a position to effectively win La Liga by beating Madrid this weekend.

The focus, then, should be very much on seeing two title-challenging teams stacked with world-class talents going head to head in a contest that unquestionably has the potential to be just as compelling as the epic encounter we witnessed at San Siro. The depressing reality is, though, that no matter who prevails at Montjuic, the Clasico will almost inevitably once again end with a set of seriously sore losers whining about the referee.