El Clasico Classics: ‘Final of the Bottles’

Arguably, the biggest rivalry in world football in terms of their global fan following, El Clasico represents not only a clash between two footballing opponents but also between two opposing political positions. Real Madrid herald Spanish nationalism whereas Barcelona are a symbol of Catalan nationalism.

Currently, Barcelona lead La Liga, having got 42 points after 16 games while their longstanding rivals are 11 behind in the fourth position. Though Madrid haven’t fired on all cylinders yet in the league, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. fresh from the success of Club World cup, cannot be underestimated.

Therefore, as the 236th El Clasico is getting ready to be staged at the magnificent Santiago Bernabeu, we look back at an El Clasico clash that became infamous due to the hostile behaviour of the home crowd: the ‘Final of the Bottles’.

Background of the game

General Franco: Spanish dictator and supposedly a Real Madrid fan

On July 5th, 1968 Real Madrid vs Barcelona, the whole country came to a standstill to witness an El Clasico finale in the Copa del Generalisimo (now known as the Copa del Rey) at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Those days, under the dictatorship of the ultraconservative Francisco Franco, any type of public activity associated with the Catalan nationalism was banned. As a result, the tension between the two clubs was at its peak.

General Franco, a Real Madrid supporter is widely considered to be one of the major reasons why club legend, Alfredo di Stefano ended up at the Bernabeu instead of Camp Nou.

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Significance of the name

Bottles lying on the field

With Los Blancos trailing 1-0, thanks to a 6th-minute own goal by defender Fernando Zunzunegui, the hostile Madrid supporters started throwing glass bottles onto the pitch, aiming for the heads of the referee Antonio Rigo and the Barcelona players.

The Blaugrana held onto their 1-0 lead thereby winning their 16th Copa del Rey trophy. With bottles raining down at the Santiago Bernabeu even after the match had finished, General Franco reluctantly handed Barcelona the cup amidst the bottles lying on the field.

This led to the creation of the name: ‘The Final of the Bottles’.

Incident that irked the Los Blancos supporters

Real Madrid ultras holding a sign: Secret weapon of Real Madrid

Real Madrid ultras got irked by referee Antonio Rigo’s failure to award two penalties to the Los Blancos as Amancio and Serena tumbled in the box.

As frustrations started building up, the Madrid supporters started launching missiles in the form of glass bottles at the referee and Barcelona players claiming that the referee was biased towards Barcelona.

Here’s what Antonio Rigo, the referee on that eventful day made of that incident:

“After the final of 1968, I became more 'Antimadridista', rather than a fan of Barcelona.”

Life after the game for Antonio Rigo

Political tensions between Spain and Catalonia makes it impossible to referee the El Classico

Antonio Rigo, the infamous referee from that epic encounter, unfortunately, had to quit football in 1977. Following the final of bottles in 1968, Rigo was challenged by Madrid and seven other clubs on the suspicion of selling the game.

Here’s Rigo’s take on whether the two penalties should have stood or not:

“I didn't see a penalty in Amancio, and Serena stumbled. Serena wanted to deceive me falling when he entered 7mm in the area.”

Regarding the accusations of selling the game, Rigo explains:

“I was challenged by Madrid and then by seven other clubs. And I think most of them did it because Madrid was their mother club and they took orders.”

Rigo believes that the final never ended for him and subsequently, the consequences have marred his life badly.