Atletico Madrid hit out at Real Madrid for 'tarnishing the image of Spanish football' 

Real Madrid have been called out by city rivals Atletico Madrid for tarnishing the image of Spanish football. On April 26 (Saturday), Real Madrid faced Barcelona in the final of the prestigious Copa del Rey. The match saw them lose 3-2, and Barcelona lifting the title.

Atletico Madrid posted on X (translated from Spanish):

"This is unbearable. Stop tarnishing the image of Spanish football #StopAcosoArbitralYa."

The controversey had started before the matchday. Real Madrid had initially hinted at boycotting the final, the reason being the match official assigned for the fixture.

Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was named as the referee for the Copa dey Rey final. Los Blancos, in their protest of the same, had boycotted the pre-match press conference and also a training session ahead of the match.

The main damage, however, was caused by a video shared by Real Madrid TV. The same contained glimpses of the official's past mistakes in Los Blancos' games. It was also mentioned that the win rate for Los Blancos was 64% when he officiated their games, compared to 81% for Barcelona.

City rivals Atletico Madrid claimed that this was an attempt to seriously tarnish the image of Spanish football. The match official had also spoken about how his family had been facing the consequences. In tears, he claimed that his son was bullied at school and that his classmates had called his father a thief.

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Real Madrid lose in the Copa del Rey final

The final between Barcelona and Real Madrid was an action-packed encounter at the Estadio de La Cartuja. Amidst the controversy created by the latter, Barcelona walked away with the win. Apart from five goals, the match also bore witness to incredible last-minute drama.

The fixture started with Pedri giving the Catalan giants the lead in the 28th minute. However, their advantage was canceled out in the 70th minute by Kylian Mbappe. Seven minutes later, to everyone's surprise, Aurelien Tchouameni gave Los Blancos the lead.

Just when Carlo Ancelotti's side thought victory was theirs, Ferran Torres equalized for Barcelona in the 84th minute, taking the match into extra-time.

The first half of the additional thirty minutes did not witness any goals. However, in the 116th minute, defender Jules Kounde netted the winning goal for Barcelona. The injury time added at the end of extra-time saw three Los Blancos players - Antonio Rudiger, Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham - being sent off.

Notably, Rudiger threw ice at the official and had to be held back by three of his teammates. He later issued an apology for his indecent behaviour.