The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has confirmed that the veteran Valencian referee Juan MartínezMunuera will be the main referee of the next Clásico between FCBarcelona and RealMadrid. With twelve years of experience in the First Division and being international since 2015, MartínezMunuera will direct his fifth time in this maximum rivalry matchup.
In the four previous matches that have been refereed, the balance favors RealMadrid with three victories and only one for Barcelona. The last white victory was recorded in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in January 2024, when Ancelotti's team won 4-1. The only Barça victory, also by a 0-4 win, occurred on matchday 29 of the 2021-22 season, when Xavi Hernández led Barcelona to victory against RealMadrid. In total, MartínezMunuera has refereed 37 games against Barcelona, with 24 wins, six draws and seven losses. RealMadrid, for its part, has seen it in 46 games, with 30 wins, nine draws and seven losses.
The Clásico will be the sixth match of the season in which the referee has directed both teams, first in Barcelona's 1-3 victory in Seville and then in RealMadrid's 4-0 win at Málaga. Along with MartínezMunuera, eight assistants will be accompanied: Diego Barbero, his brother Miguel MartínezMunuera, and the fourth referee José Antonio Palomares. The VAR and AVAR will also be on the field, with the Galician Javier Iglesias Villanueva and José Antonio López Toca, accompanied by a video operator. In addition, the referee “coach”, Rubén Reiz, will supervise the team's performance.
In the VOR room of Las Rozas, the evaluation team will have the TV observer of the referee and the assistants, in charge of evaluating the performance from television. Javier Turienzo Alvárez, former First Division referee, will be responsible for the evaluation. The ten new TV observers in attendance will be under the supervision of Francisco Javier Vázquez.
With this lineup of officials and the experience of MartínezMunuera, the Clásico promises solid and well-coordinated refereeing, maintaining the balance between both teams and ensuring that the match is held with the utmost professionalism.