The Spanish Football Federation has officially announced the appointment of international referee José María Sánchez Martínez to officiate the match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, scheduled for Saturday as the official opening of the Spotify Camp Nou stadium following its renovation.

The federation also assigned referee Daniel Trujillo to manage the video technology room during the match. This will be the first match that Sánchez Martínez officiates for Barcelona this season, while it will be the second for Athletic Bilbao, after he refereed the team's game against Alavés in the fourth round, which ended with a 1-0 loss for the Basques.

The Spanish referee is officiating his second match in the league since his recent return, during the Getafe vs. Girona game in round 11. This comes after an absence of a month and a half due to an injury he sustained while participating in the Under-20 World Cup in Chile. He felt pain during the warm-up before the Argentina vs. Australia match on October 2nd, after having refereed the Paraguay vs. Panama game in his tournament debut. He was later forced to withdraw and return to Spain.

Sánchez Martínez has previously officiated several matches this season, including Valencia versus Real Sociedad in the first round, and Real Madrid against Mallorca in the third round. Regarding his record with the two teams, he has refereed 36 matches for Barcelona, during which the team achieved 28 wins, 2 draws, and 6 losses. Meanwhile, he has officiated 28 matches for Athletic Bilbao, resulting in 14 wins, 5 draws, and 9 losses.