The Referees Committee announced the selection of referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso to officiate the match between Real Betis and Barcelona, scheduled to take place on Saturday at 7:30 PM Egypt time at the La Cartuja Stadium.

This will be the first match officiated by the referee for the Catalan team this season, although he previously refereed a Betis match during the ninth round of this season, when the team drew 2-2 with Villarreal at the La Cerámica stadium. Javier Iglesias Villanueva will serve as the assistant video referee.

This match marks Hernandez Maeso's third appearance as a referee in Barcelona games since his promotion to the top division. Last season, he officiated the team's match against Leganés, which ended with a 1-0 victory for Barcelona in the 31st round at the Butarque Stadium on April 12.

His first match with the team was in the King’s Cup against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Round of 16 for the 2023/2024 season, which ended with a 3-1 victory for Barcelona. Therefore, Saturday’s match will be his second league game with Barcelona, both of which are away matches.

Regarding Real Betis, this will be the fourth match that Hernández officiates for the team in La Liga. Besides this season's match, he refereed two games last season: the first was a 5-1 victory for Betis over Valladolid in round 33 at the Benito Villamarín Stadium, while his very first match with the team was a 2-0 loss against Real Sociedad in San Sebastián.