César Soto Grado, from the Riojan committee, has been appointed to direct the first classic of his career this Sunday. The meeting between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which takes place on Sunday at 9 p.m. at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, is key to the fight for the LaLiga title, since a victory for the white team would end the Catalans' chances.
This season, Soto Grado has refereed Barça on two occasions, and both ended in a draw. The first of them was in Getafe (0-0), on the opening day, where the referee sent off Raphinha and Xavi. The other duel, against Granada in Los Cármenes (2-2), was also not without controversy, since the referee annulled a doubtful goal by João Félix due to a positional offside by Ferran Torres, so much so that it made it 2-3. in favor of the Catalan team.
The referee from Candelada (Ávila), who debuted in the First Division in 2019, will be assisted in the VAR by José María Sánchez Martínez from Murcia and Eduardo Prieto Iglesias. During the five seasons that he has been in the elite, Soto Grado has refereed Real Madrid seventeen times and Barcelona nine times.
His record with the Barça team is three wins, two draws and four losses. Barça has not won with Soto Grado as referee since November 2021, when they won at La Cerámica against Villarreal (1-3).
On the other hand, the white team, with its refereeing, has won eleven games, drawn four and lost two, against Atlético de Madrid and Villarreal. This season, the 43-year-old referee led the Madrid team three times. The victory on the fifth matchday against Real Sociedad (2-1), the draw at Betis on the sixteenth matchday (1-1) and the victory at the Las Palmas stadium on the twentysecond matchday (1-2).
Before the momentous match on Sunday, in which Real Madrid arrives with eight points of advantage, Soto Grado will act as Sánchez Martínez's fourth referee in tonight's match between West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen, in the European quarterfinals. League.
