Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea has had a week from hell, but at least one Barcelona player has applauded his Copa del Rey final performance.
The official was the victim of Real Madrid TV’s usual attack videos before the final against Barca, and broke down in tears pre-match discussing the impact on the younger generations.
Madrid put out two official statements criticising him and his team in response, but during the match De Burgos Bengoetxea held it together in a 3-2 win for Barca.
He even overturned a late penalty for the Catalans and booked Raphinha for diving.
Despite that, Madrid’s players went for him at full time, with Antonio Rudiger throwing a bag of ice while Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham threatened him according to his match report.
All three players were sent off after the final whistle.
Responding to his performance, fellow Basque native Inigo Martinez said post-match: “First of all, congratulations to Ritchie and the rest of his team who were involved.
“I think they performed at a very high level, and I hope we all can do the same. I truly believe them reaching that level was well deserved.
“From our side, it’s important that we support them. We all face challenges in life, and it’s tough — no one likes to be in that situation. We have to understand that.
“As for us, we knew today would also be a complicated day for him, with so much going on around him. But he handled it really well, and I’m very happy for him.”
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