The referees are crying foul on Real Madrid TV, and De Burgos ends in tears: "When a son comes home crying because he's been told his father is a thief, it's really tough."

The Copa del Rey final began in the press room, but not with an appearance by Carlo Ancelotti or Hansi Flick . The Barcelona-Real Madrid match at La Cartuja began with Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea and Pablo González Fuertes , the on-field referee and VAR referee for the Clásico, at the microphone. Pablo spoke with rage and a threat , and Ricardo spoke with tears , as he analyzed the current situation of the collective, attacked "by the players in Spanish football."

"A few weeks ago, we had a meeting with professional referees, and there's more unity than ever. We're going to have to start taking more serious measures than those currently being taken. We're not going to continue allowing this . In a few days, you'll probably hear about what's coming. Have no doubt about it. This team, along with the CTA, is going to make history," declared González Fuertes. A strike? " You'll hear about it soon ," he added.

On the table were Real Madrid Television videos and criticism of clubs and players on social media. "The truth is, these videos leave me indifferent," said De Burgos, but González Fuertes was very forceful. "We've been seeing every week, for some time now, anonymous social media accounts that insult and threaten without any kind of oversight. Community managers who are constantly attacking for a like, press releases, actions by football players that give rise to the belief that we're dishonest ..." he explained.

The referee, who will be in charge of the VOR room tomorrow, alluded to the consequences of such criticism on grassroots football. " The problem is the consequences . When we talk about communicators, journalists who talk about theft, about swearing, what it means is that the fans pay for that frustration on Sunday morning with the boy or girl who grabs a whistle and has to blow the whistle in the youth category. That's the consequence of putting a target on someone's head . We have to stop these behaviors and return to clean football," he asserted.

González Fuertes appealed to "everyone involved in football." "Coaches, directors, players, the letters, the statements, the tweets, the videos... I think we've made a mistake. One day we're going to have a real problem . Who's going to take responsibility? We need to turn around this situation of belligerence with the refereeing establishment."

Towards the end of the press conference, De Burgos Bengoetxea , who hadn't been as forceful as his teammate, became emotional when analyzing the consequences of the attacks on referees. "We're focusing a lot on the Real Madrid Television videos because that's what has the most impact, but I'll tell you about a situation and you tell me. When there's a child who goes to school and they're told their son is a thief, and they come home crying... That's really messed up ," he said through tears.

"I try to raise my son to tell him that his father is honorable, that anyone who says otherwise is wrong. And that's really messed up. I want my son to be proud, and we have no right to go through what we're going through. Everyone should reflect on where they want to go and what they want from sports and football," he concluded.