Officially: The referee for the clásico is revealed

The Technical Refereeing Committee in Spain has announced the appointment of José Luis Martínez Munuera to officiate the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, as part of the tenth round of LaLiga, while Javier Iglesias will serve as the Video Assistant Referee.

Luis Martínez Monuera is 44 years old and hails from the city of Alicante. He has held the international badge since 2015 and has been officiating LaLiga matches since 2013. The referee has previous experience managing El Clásico encounters, as he prepares to lead the fifth match between the two teams.

In their first encounter officiated by Martínez Munuera, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-1 in the 2020-2021 season, amidst refereeing controversy due to the awarding of a penalty to the royal team after a VAR intervention, following Clément Lenglet's pull on Sergio Ramos' shirt.

In the following season, the referee oversaw a match that ended with Barcelona thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu. He also officiated the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final for the 2022-2023 season, which ended with Real Madrid winning 4-0, before managing the Supercopa de España final for the 2023-2024 season, which was decided in favour of the royal team with a score of 4-1.

Real Madrid have achieved three victories compared to one for Barcelona in the last four clásico matches officiated by the Spanish referee.

The overall figures indicate a positive record for Real Madrid under his management, having achieved 30 victories, drawn nine matches, and lost seven encounters. Barcelona also has a positive record with the referee, having secured 24 wins, drawn six matches, and suffered four defeats.