The Overreaction to Referees Will Cost Real Madrid Dearly

The overreaction of Real Madrid players to the officiating by Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea in the Copa del Rey final against Barça in Seville is likely to have serious consequences for the Chamartín team. Despite Antonio Rüdiger's apology on Sunday for his regrettable behaviour of throwing ice at the Bilbao referee after he called a foul on Mbappé against Eric García in the final minutes of extra time, it seems the German defender will face a severe penalty that could see him sidelined for the rest of the season.

The German's conduct, which required "restraint by several members of the technical staff showing aggressive behaviour," as noted by De Burgos Bengoetxea in the match report after showing him the red card in the 120th minute, fits perfectly within the guidelines of Article 101 of the Disciplinary Code of the Spanish Football Federation (FEF), which penalises such actions with a ban ranging from four to twelve matches.

"There is no excuse for my behaviour last night. I am very sorry, and I apologise to the referee," the German defender wrote on his social media on Sunday, once the tension of a match, which had been clouded in the lead-up by the institutional snub by Real Madrid to the FEF following the statements by De Burgos Bengoetxea and Pablo González Fuertes, who assisted the Basque referee from the VOR room in the Copa final, criticising the videos from Real Madrid Television.

At the 'white house', there is also concern for Jude Bellingham, who was sent off after the Copa classic for approaching the referee's area "in an aggressive manner, having to be restrained by his teammates," as noted by De Burgos Bengoetxea in the report. The Englishman could face a ban of two to three matches. Lucas Vázquez, who also saw red, could miss two matches.