Mourinho questions early leak of Martinez Munuera as El Clasico referee

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has criticised the reported early disclosure of the referee for Sunday’s El Clasico against Barcelona, saying the appointment should not be made public until 24 hours before kick-off.

The controversy began after Spanish television programme El Chiringuito reported that Martinez Munuera would take charge of the match, despite Alberola Rojas being viewed as the leading candidate. The programme also reported that Iglesias Villanueva would be the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Mourinho was asked about the report on Wednesday, following Real Madrid’s heavy 4-1 defeat by Leipzig. While facing questions about the performance and result, the referee appointment was the only subject to draw a strong response from the Portuguese.

“I don’t think that is true, or if it is true, it is out of context, because the referee’s name is only officially announced 24 hours before the match,” Mourinho said. “I don’t like this type of information, and I am not referring to the referee himself.”

The manager said his objection was directed at the leak and its timing, rather than Martinez Munuera personally.

The report, carried by Spanish newspaper Sport, has raised questions because of the appointment process introduced this season. Referees are selected internally no more than four days before a match, but their appointments are not officially announced until 24 hours before the game.

It is not the first time Mourinho has expressed concern about an early referee disclosure. Before a Champions League meeting with Roma, he reacted after Alejandro Hernandez was reportedly identified as the official weeks in advance.

“I trust all referees. The only thing that raises my doubts is knowing the referee’s name three weeks before the match, rather than only 24 hours before,” he said at the time.

Mourinho’s latest comments come amid an increasingly tense relationship between Real Madrid and Spain’s refereeing authorities. The dispute intensified after the club’s defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby, when Real Madrid finished the match with 10 players following Huijsen’s dismissal.

Mourinho ended his media silence after that match and arrived at his news conference with printed images of contentious incidents supplied by the club’s analysts.

“I thought I had found a different league from the one I left,” he said, before describing referee Ortiz Arias as “a poor man who came here and could not handle the pressure”.

The decision to appoint a referee based in Madrid for the derby followed reforms led by Fran Soto, chairman of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) since July 2025. Those reforms began the gradual removal of the regional dependency criterion during the 2025/26 season.

The policy was described by many analysts as an unsuccessful gamble, prompting the committee to focus its El Clasico shortlist on referees with international badges.

Martinez Munuera has held his FIFA international badge since 2015 and has more than a decade of experience in international football. He has refereed four international matches this season, although none came in the decisive stages of the Champions League.

Domestically, he has officiated two major matches involving the clubs this season: Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Sevilla at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan and Real Madrid’s 4-0 win against Malaga at Santiago Bernabeu.

However, his name remains associated with an unhappy memory in Madrid after his controversial performance during the club’s match against Osasuna in March 2024. Real Madrid accused him of ignoring racist abuse directed at Vinicius Junior at El Sadar, despite the player and his team-mates drawing his attention to it.