Clasico referee given middling rating after disputed Real Madrid calls

Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the first La Liga Clasico of the season was followed by a mixed assessment of referee Juan Martinez Munuera, who received a rating of 5.75 out of 10 from refereeing analysis site Archivo VAR.

The match was played at Spotify Camp Nou, where Martinez Munuera had to manage a highly charged atmosphere from the opening minutes. Archivo VAR said the referee was right to avoid showing yellow cards too quickly, as doing so could have established an overly lenient standard for the rest of a match of such importance.

His performance was considered neutral throughout the first half, although he faced further difficulties after the interval. Two contentious incidents required important decisions, and the referee dealt with them reasonably well. Archivo VAR judged one decision to be ideal, while the other was not entirely successful.

Martinez Munuera also showed some inconsistency in the closing stages, when he failed to produce what was described as a clear yellow card for Eduardo Camavinga. Despite that, Archivo VAR’s overall view was that he had managed an extremely difficult match effectively, with the positive aspects of his performance substantially outweighing the negative ones.

The assessment identified two errors in his handling of disciplinary decisions, while also crediting him with several correct calls in other incidents.

One of those errors came when the referee failed to punish a challenge by Joao Cancelo on Diomande. The challenge came close to crossing the permitted limit. Although the incident appeared particularly severe when viewed as a still image, the moving footage showed contact that resulted in a scratch to the opponent’s leg.

Archivo VAR therefore considered the incident a clear case for a yellow card, which was not shown.

The referee was, however, judged to have made the completely correct decision not to award a possible penalty for a handball by Alejandro Balde. The incident involved three simultaneous touches within a single second, and the contact with the ball was deemed entirely accidental.

On that occasion, the assessment concluded that there was no offence and that Martinez Munuera’s decision was fully justified.