Who is Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, the referee for the Copa del Rey semifinal between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid?
The Basque referee has been selected for the high-stakes game in Cataluña.
There are innumerable tear-jerking poems written on hope, single lines on triumph that have inspired greatness over the centuries, and quotes on making the impossible come true that have pushed the pen into the pages of history and moved it to write.
But for the Copa del Rey semifinal, Spain already has Hansi Flick covered with a famous line for the occasion: it’s a final.
Except it’s not a final; it’s a semifinal. The ‘final’ line is pulled from the bag across the Iberian peninsula quicker than a jamón y queso flavoured vape, and is used for everything from actual finals to semi-indeterminate matches across a season that ultimately bear no real significance on a team’s outcome at the end of it.
Back to this semi, erm, final. FC Barcelona will aim to pull of a miracle of the ages against Atlético Madrid in their Copa del Rey clash (3pm ET) as they try to overturn a four-goal deficit sustained in the Spanish capital two weeks ago.
On that night in Madrid, the hosts ran riot, scoring all four of their goals in a first half blitz that Barcelona simply could not contain.
Who is the referee for Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey?
In charge of keeping everything in check is señor Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, who brings with him a wealth of experience.
He has taken charge of over 200 LaLiga games, as well as more than 40 Copa del Rey fixtures. The Basque official also has experience in Europe, having refereed games in Europe’s three domestic competitions: the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
He most recently oversaw the derby between Real Betis and Sevilla, one of Spain’s feistiest fixtures, and also travelled to Saudi Arabia to referee the high-profile clash between Al Hilal and Al Ittihad.
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea
Assistant 1: Iker de Francisco
Assistant 2: Asier Pérez
Fourth official: Francisco José Ortega
VAR referee: Daniel Jesús Trujillo
VAR assistant: Javier Iglesias
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