Copa del Rey final: Rudiger throwing object at referee and other controversies from Barcelona-Real Madrid showdown

Barcelona defeated arch-rivals Real Madrid 3-2 in a dramatic ‘El Clasico’ final in Sevilla on Saturday to win the Copa del Rey for a record-extending 32nd time and giving Hansi Flick his first trophy since succeeding Xavi as their coach. Barcelona players and their supporters went wild after Jules Kounde (116’) scored the winner deep into extra time after Ferran Torres scored the equaliser with six minutes left in regular time.

This was after Madrid struck twice in a space of seven minutes in the second half to move to a 2-1 lead after Pedri scored the only goal of the first half. Kylian Mbappe scored the first free kick of his career in the 70th minute and Aurelien Tchouameni putting ‘Los Blancos’ in the lead shortly after.

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Saturday’s game at Sevilla’s Estadio de La Cartuja, however, turned out to be quite heated an affair, which is hardly a surprise for a game involving two of the most successful Spanish teams that also happen to be among the most decorated in the world.

Here are some of the biggest controversies from the latest Clasico showdown:

Madrid targets referees before kickoff

The Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Real Madrid was in the news for the wrong reasons before the game even got underway in Sevilla on Saturday evening, with the latter targeting referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, who was on duty for the match.

Madrid were not in favour of Bengoetxea officiating the blockbuster game, having previously pointed out his mistakes in their previous matches. An emotional Bengoetxea and VAR official Pablo Gonzalez Fuentes hit back at the club a day before the final slamming Madrid for creating an environment of hate towards referees.

The club wasn’t pleased with the response of the referees, and not only did they boycott the pre-match press conference, they also did not hold an open training session in Sevilla and president Florentino Perez did not attend the traditional presidents’ dinner.

Rudiger throws an object towards the referee

Bengoetxea was part of what surely was the most heated moment of Saturday’s clash, with the 39-year-old showing Antonio Rudiger the red card after the Madrid defender flung an object at him from the sidelines. The incident occurred shortly after Kounde scored deep into extra time to give Barcelona a 3-2 lead with less than five minutes left barring stoppage time.

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The German centre-back lost his temper after the referee awarded a decision in favour of the Catalans after a foul on Eric Garcia by Kylian Mbappe, and had to be restrained by several individuals from the Madrid camp, who prevented him from storming to the pitch and causing even more chaos.

For his actions on Saturday, Rudiger faces the possibility of a length suspension, with the Spanish football federation (RFEF) reportedly expected to announce their verdict on the matter in the coming days.

Bellingham, Vazquez also penalised

Referee Bengoetxea had made several bookings in the high-voltage clash, issuing seven yellow cards throughout the evening with four of them involving Barcelona players. All three red cards, however, were shown at Madrid players, with Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham also getting penalised.

Vazquez and Vinicius Junior had charged the pitch around the time Rudiger had thrown the object towards the referee, resulting in the former getting dismissed. Bellingham, on the other hand, was sent off after the final whistle for his “aggressive attitude” towards Bengoetxea.

If relations between Madrid and the referees in general and Bengoetxea in particular, were fractured before Saturday’s game, they reached a new low following Barcelona’s dramatic victory.