El Clasico: Did Real Madrid 'bully' match referee ahead of Copa del Rey final? Here's what happened

Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, the referee for Saturday's Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona, broke down on Friday, responding to a critical video published by Real's in-house TV channel RMTV.

The video, released on Thursday, shows "a series of errors" made by De Burgos throughout his career. The referee expressed his distress during a press conference. "When a child arrives at school and his mates tell him that his father is a thief, it makes you sick. What I do is try to educate my son to tell him that his father is an honest man, that he makes mistakes like any other sportsman. It's very hard, I don't recommend it to anyone..."

There was no immediate response from Real Madrid regarding De Burgos' comments. Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, the VAR official for Saturday's final, said referees would soon take action due to the continuous pressure they face. "We are going to start taking real action, we are not going to continue to allow what is happening," he said.

"In a few days you all will see. We are going to make history and we are not going to continue to put up with what we are putting up with. A strike? You will have news from us soon."In February, the Spanish FOOTBALL football (RFEF) highlighted referees' concerns over abuse, citing the case of official Jose Munuera Montero, who faced a backlash after issuing a red card to Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham. A few weeks earlier, Real had also lodged a letter of complaint against the Spanish referees following their 1-0 defeat by Espanyol.