The game that changed the life of De Burgos Bengoechea

Tomorrow Richard Burgos He will whistle his third clásico, the second in just two and a half months after the final of the Spanish Super Cup final. If the appointment in Saudi Arabia was already important, much more important is this Sunday’s clash at the Camp Nou because it can decide the League. To which is added the existing environment generated by the case negreira that places the arbitral body in the center of attention.

And all this responsibility falls on Richard Burgos, Primera referee since 2015 and international since January 1, 2018 when he occupied the position left by the current VAR director due to his retirement; Clos Gomez. Two years earlier, at the age of 30, he had attended the CORE course for young referees with the most projection.

Two are the circumstances that have changed life in just over a year. First, the arrival to the presidency of the CTA of Luis Medina Cantalejo, who has trusted a new batch of referees where they are, in addition to the Basque international; collegiates such as Munuera Montero, Figueroa Vázquez and contrasted as Sánchez Martínez or Gil Manzano.

Impeccable management of tension at Villamarín

And second, and no less important, the Sevillian derby of the round of 16 that Ricardo whistled on January 16 of last year at the Villamarín Stadium. A derby that the referee decided to suspend after the attack suffered by Joan Jordan after 39 minutes of the match by a bar of about 50 centimeters

The management that took that day Burgos, and under a very tense environment, it was perfect. Without losing his temper, perfectly applying the protocol and adopting a decision as complex as it was to suspend the duel of eternal rivals. Meeting that ended up playing the next day behind closed doors at the Verdiblanco stadium. A match that De Burgos also whistled after the CTA received authorization from FIFA given that the referee was summoned those days for a course in the United Arab Emirates for the World Cup in Qatar and where he was summoned as a VAR referee.

Since then the leap in quality of Burgos Bengoechea It is evident and has been reaffirmed this season. First with the appointments in the Spanish League where, in addition to this first league classic, Betis-Barcelona on matchday 17 (1-2), Valencia-Barcelona on matchday 12 (0-1), Sevilla – Atlético de Madrid on matchday seven (0-2) or Atlético de Madrid – Villarreal on matchday two (0-2). In the Cup, he was in charge of directing the Osasuna-Sevilla quarterfinal match on January 25, which was decided 2-1 for the Navarrese in extra time. A growth that is also reflected in Europe where he begins to participate more regularly in club competitions. Until now his role was more testimonial. This season he has already whistled three Europa League matches (Lazio-Feyenoord in the groups, Union Berlin-Ajax in the intermediate round and Dudelange-Malmoe in the qualifying round), as well as a Conference match (Cologne-Partizan), and another qualifying for the Champions League.

Fourteen games directed in the League and four penalties awarded

Until now Richard Burgos He has whistled 14 games this season in the First Division League where he has shown 63 yellow cards (4.50 per game) and 6 red cards (0.43 per game). On four occasions he has signaled the penalty spot, which is an average of 0.29 per game. He has called a total of 282 fouls in all these games, at an average of 20.14 per game. Tomorrow he is facing another game that can mark his arbitration career. He is called to lead the arbitration and the vacancy that will be left by referees such as Del Cerro or Mateu Lahoz when they retire in the coming seasons.

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