"Refereeing the Copa Final is a dream"

At 39 years of age, José María Sánchez Martínez will referee his first Copa del Rey final at La Cartuja between Real Madrid and Osasuna. The Murcian, in First Division since the 2015-16 season, will make his debut in the most beautiful match of national football, committed as it could not be otherwise. With Raúl Cabañero Martínez and José Enrique Naranjo Pérez as assistants, the fourth official will be Juan Martínez Munuera and Santiago Jaime Latre will be in charge of the VAR, with Diego Barbero Sevilla as AVAR.

One day away from the big event, Sánchez Martínez is preparing for an event of maximum repercussions, with all the spotlights on the Sevillian turf. And the Murcia native, in that sense, is working to ensure that his performance rises to the occasion, proud after a lifetime dedicated to refereeing. "It is a moment of maximum happiness," he said at the press conference prior to Saturday's match. "Thinking back a little, and talking about how the beginnings were going through all the categories, reaching this final is a dream, a goal accomplished. I never imagined I would be directing a Copa del Rey final. Like any child who starts with a hobby, this is a dream. My family will be at the stadium and it will make the day much more special, I am very happy with the responsibility that comes with directing a Copa del Rey final."

Sánchez Martínez, assuming the enormous responsibility, tries to stay away from the media noise that always awakens this kind of battle. "You have to be isolated from many things. Our job is like that of a footballer or a coach, we have to make decisions. We can't be with a weight in our backpack, we have to be prepared for any twist. The fundamental thing is that any athlete knows how to manage those times and the mental aspect. There are many things in a referee's baggage, among them that calmness and knowing how to be, being aware that there are many decisions to be made. We take the final as seriously as we do the rest of the matches.

Referee self-criticism

The referees appointed for the final are aware of the current situation at the public level and also assume that there are actions that arouse debate, as is the case with the hands. And, in that sense, Sánchez Martínez has launched a resounding message. "I want to bring awareness to refereeing self-criticism. We are the first to be self-critical when there are certain imbalances in those hands and we want the decisions to always be correct. I would like that the right decisions do not become mistakes because that does not favor football. It favors confusion, criticism that we do not have the same criteria. We try to get closer so that everyone is clear about the criteria of the hands, but we ask that the successes are not converted into errors. Because, mainly, it is not fair for us".

Sanchez Martinez has also assessed the latest events and the climate of tension that is being generated from different actors in football, with demonstrations and insinuations of high tone even from leaders of weight. "In the communiqués that we have published, it is important to emphasize that a rather bad breeding ground is being generated. And not only in professional football. We also have a responsibility for the referees who come after us, those in grassroots football. I started when I was 17 years old, I have gone through all the categories, and we referees of the First Division cannot tolerate the repetition of these situations that have been occurring. Football, like refereeing, is a quarry. For there to be a refereeing team here tomorrow, they have had to go through grassroots football. If we are not aware of what is happening, we have a problem. And we have to set an example as a society.

"We have, among all of us, to do our part. There are attitudes and incidents that lead to nothing. The mirror of our young people is us, those of us who are in professional football. It is important that we take care of our sport, that we take care of football. In the long run, if not, it will become a sport without values. And football has to have them, like any other sport. It cannot be "anything goes". Because what we are going to achieve is to create a monster".

Jaime Latre, responsible for the VAR and with more than 60 matches this season, recalled that his main mission is to help "to the maximum". "I have been lucky enough to be with José María in many international matches. I show him all my help in whatever I can from the VAR". In addition, he has placed value on the fact that the semi-automatic offside system is going to be used in the final. "It is a very useful tool. The process we need in this case is very fast. You have to interpret the play, but the speed is greater, beyond precision."