The Valencian referee Juan Martínez Munuera has been chosen by the Technical Committee of Referees to lead the decisive Barça-Real Madrid Copa del Rey game that will take place this Wednesday at the Camp Nou (9:00 p.m.).
A priori, he seems like a referee with full guarantees since he is considered one of the best on the pitch by his teammates and also in the VAR. It should be remembered that he was one of those chosen by FIFA to be in the video arbitration room during the past World Cup in Qatar. UEFA also holds him in high regard.
Throughout his long career, the Benidorm referee has directed two classics, both quite recent, with a victory for each team. The first was in October 2020 in a league match, which ended with a 1-3 win over Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. It was a duel that was not without controversy since he awarded a penalty for a slight grab by Lenglet on Sergio Ramos that exasperated the Barça side. Martínez Munuera also directed Xavi's debut on the bench at the Santiago Bernabéu in the League, which ended in a resounding 0-4 in March last year.
The man from Alicante has directed 29 matches for FC Barcelona, with 19 wins for Barça, 6 draws and 4 defeats. For his part, he has refereed Real Madrid 32 times, with 19 white wins, 6 draws and 7 losses. Both teams have had only one player sent off in all these matches.
