The task of officiating the Catalonia derby between Barcelona and Espanyol, within the Spanish League competitions, has been assigned to referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez, for the match scheduled to take place at Spotify Camp Nou.

The appointment of the referee comes from the referees committee of the Spanish Football Federation, where Hernandez Hernandez, who is the only Spanish referee recently appointed to participate in the 2026 World Cup, has been chosen to manage this anticipated match, while Valentin Pizarro will be responsible for the video technology.

This is the third match that Hernandez Hernandez will officiate for Barcelona this season, after leading a match against Levante, which ended with a 3-2 victory for Barcelona and included a controversial penalty against Alejandro Balde after a video review, resulting in the opponent taking the lead before the end of the first half. He also officiated the team's match against Real Sociedad, which ended with a 2-1 victory for Barcelona.

In general, the referee has previously officiated 40 matches for Barcelona in the Spanish League, making it the second most officiated team after Celta Vigo, with the Catalan team achieving 23 victories, 13 draws, and 4 losses during those matches.

On the other hand, this will be the fourth match that the same referee manages for Espanyol this season, as he led their victory over Real Mallorca 3-2, before officiating their losses against Villarreal 2-0, and against Valencia 3-2.

Espanyol, under Hernandez's management, has played 24 matches in the Spanish League, achieving 3 victories, 7 draws, and 14 losses, with their last win before the current season being a 4-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in the 30th round of last season, while their first victory under his leadership in the 2022/2023 season was a 2-1 win over the same team.