Cup Final: De Burgos Bengoetxea to the Clásico! Controversial decision?

The 2025 Copa del Rey final already has referees. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will face each other at La Cartuja this Saturday, April 26th, starting at 22:00 CEST, with Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea as the referee, who will be celebrating a decade in the elite of Spanish football this summer.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed the Basque referee to officiate in what will be his third Clásico in a final. Previously, the 29-year-old referee officiated two Barça-Madrid matches in the Spanish Super Cup (2017 and 2022).

The referee Pablo González Fuertes will be in the VAR. This season, De Burgos has refereed three Barça matches in La Liga and one Madrid Super Cup match, with a positive balance for both teams. As for Clásicos, this will be his fourth and the first in the Copa del Rey.

De Burgos Bengoetxea will referee his fourth Barça-Madrid

The 39-year-old judge made his debut in a Barça-Madrid in August 2017, in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup final. The 'merengues' surprised the 'azulgrana' team (1-3) at Camp Nou, in a match remembered for the expulsion of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese received two yellow cards in the second half, one for taking off his shirt to celebrate a goal and another for simulating a penalty. 'CR7' received a five-match suspension, as he pushed the referee in his claim.

After that, more than five years passed to see De Burgos Bengoetxea in a Clásico. The Basque was appointed for the 2022 Spanish Super Cup final, played in Arabia on January 15, 2023.

In that final, Barça won with authority against Madrid (1-3) with goals from Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri. That same year, in March, the Bilbao native refereed the La Liga Clásico on matchday 26, the last one played at Camp Nou before its remodeling.

The 'culés' took the victory by the minimum (2-1) thanks to goals from Sergi Roberto and Franck Kessié. After that match, Barça escaped to 8 points ahead of Madrid, an advantage they would not lose for the rest of the tournament.

1. 13/08/2017: FC Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid. First leg of the 2017 Spanish Super Cup final.
2. 15/01/2023: Real Madrid 1-3 FC Barcelona. Final of the 2022 Spanish Super Cup.
3. 19/03/2023: FC Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid. Matchday 26 of LaLiga EA Sports 2022-23.

How has FC Barcelona fared with De Burgos Bengoetxea? Statistics and results

Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea en el FC Barcelona vs Valencia de LaLiga

Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea has directed, so far, 31 matches of Barça between La Liga, Copa and Super Cup. In them, the 'culés' have accumulated 25 victories, 1 draw and 5 defeats between 2015 and 2025.

This season, the Basque has refereed three Barça matches in La Liga. The first, on October 20 against Sevilla (5-1), for matchday 10. The referee sanctioned a penalty by Peque on Raphinha in the 22nd minute, which was highly disputed by the Seville team.

After that, De Burgos Bengoetxea was chosen for the match on matchday 18 against Atlético (1-2). The 'culés' fell in Montjuïc on December 21 in a match where the referee overlooked a clear handball by Giuliano Simeone in the 20th minute, inside the area, which should have been a penalty.

The Bilbao native repeated as the main referee of the rematch at the Metropolitano, for matchday 28 (2-4), tilting the balance again in favor of the 'colchoneros'. Prior to Atleti's second goal, scored by Sorloth, the referee turned a blind eye to a very clear handball by De Paul that would have caused a very dangerous free kick in favor of Barça.

After the 2-0 partial, came the 'azulgrana' reaction to turn around an incredible match in the last 20 minutes. In general, Barcelona's balance with De Burgos Bengoetxea is positive:

What do the statistics say? Real Madrid's record with De Burgos Bengoetxea

Madrid, for its part, has played 25 matches directed by the Basque referee. The 'merengue' balance is also positive, with 17 wins, 4 draws and the same number of defeats.

In 2024-25, De Burgos Bengoetxea has not refereed La Liga matches, but he has in the Spanish Super Cup. The Bilbao native was the referee of the semifinal against Mallorca (3-0), a match that ended in a brawl after the repeated clashes between Pablo Maffeo and Vinicius Jr.

Although controversies are always the order of the day with the 39-year-old referee, Madrid fans have complained about his appointment for the Cup final, as the 'blancos' were hoping to have the help of César Soto Grado at La Cartuja.