Real Madrid to boycott Copa del Rey final? Spanish giants skip press conference and training session as Spanish FA reject demand after video emerges of referee in tears ahead of showdown against Barcelona

On Thursday, Madrid's affiliate television channel, RMTV, published a lengthy video criticising referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, who has been tasked with officiating the Copa del Rey final between Los Blancos and Barcelona. The videos claimed that Bengoetxea gave a decision favouring the Catalan side and hinted at potential corruption from the 39-year-old. On Friday, Bengoetxea broke down into tears during his press conference as he revealed that his son was told that his father was 'a thief'.

Los Blancos then requested that the Spanish football federation (RFEF) enact a change to the refereeing team for the Copa del Rey final, citing that Bengoetxea could no longer be expected to be neutral to both sides, ASreports. However, the RFEF quickly shot down the request from Real Madrid as the change would reflect as a club interfering with the refereeing committee.

Multiple Spanish outlets have now claimed that Madrid are considering boycotting their Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Saturday after their request was rejected. Los Blancos have cancelled their public pre-match training session at Estadio de La Cartuja and have done the same for their press conference on Saturday afternoon.

"Real Madrid CF has informed the RFEF that it will not hold the press conference or the official training session prior to the final of the [Copa Del Rey] scheduled for today at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville," a social media post from the RFEF said.

Real released a statement on their website and social media on Friday evening after RFEF's rejection, and, ironically, called for the federation to uphold the integrity of the competition, just days after throwing mud on the very integrity of the competition with their video on RMTV.

Los Blancos' statement read: "Real Madrid C.F. considers the public statements made today by the referees designated for the Copa del Rey Final, scheduled to be held tomorrow, April 26, 2025, unacceptable.

"These statements, which have surprisingly focused attention on videos from a media outlet protected by freedom of expression, such as Real Madrid TV, deliberately made 24 hours earlier against one of the final's participants, demonstrate, once again, the clear and manifest animosity and hostility of these referees toward Real Madrid.

"Even more surprising statements, in a threatening tone, alluding to the referees' unity, are used to announce alleged measures or actions that are far from the principles of fairness, objectivity, and impartiality that should prevail just hours before a football event that captures the attention of hundreds of millions of people around the world.

"Given the seriousness of what happened, Real Madrid hopes that those responsible for the RFEF and the refereeing establishment will act accordingly, adopting the necessary measures to defend the prestige of the institutions they represent."

Madrid have not officially announced their decision to boycott the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Saturday, however, the RFEF is also not going to back down, it seems. Only time will tell if the reports coming from Madrid are more of a tactic or an actual threat from the underperforming side. If the 15-time European champions do sit out the clash, Barcelona will be handed their first major title of the season as they chase their third European treble.