El Clasico is one of the biggest games in world football and it is always a treat when one crops up in a competition other than La Liga.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have been drawn to face each other over two legs in the Copa del Rey semi-finals and the first match takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday night. The winner will contest the final with either Osasuna or Athletic Club. The first leg in that tie finished 1-0 to Osasuna.
Barcelona are having a better season domestically as they are seven points clear of Los Blancos at the top of the table. That means nothing coming into this tie, though. Referees are always a big topic ahead of these games but events in recent weeks mean there is an extra focus on who will be in the middle of the park.
For this match, Jose Luis Munuera Montero will be in charge. Here’s all you need to know about him.
Munuera Montero has been in charge of 13 Real Madrid games during his career. Los Blancos have won 11 of those games, drawn one, and lost the other.
They have been given 18 yellow cards, one of which became a red card. He has never shown a Real Madrid player a straight red card and has given them two penalty kicks. He was in charge of the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid earlier this season which ended 2-1 to Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Atletico Madrid saw Mario Hermoso sent off for two separate pushes, a decision they were very unhappy about.
He has been in charge of 23 Barcelona matches which is much more than Real Madrid. The Blaugrana have won 17 of those games, drawn two and lost four. 42 yellow cards have been given to Barcelona players in those games, along with two straight red cards.
He was in charge of Barcelona’s 3-2 defeat against Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey round of 16 in 2021/22. In the two games where Barcelona received red cards from Munuera Montero, they still won the games.
Interestingly, Munuera Montero has only refereed one Clasico during his career. This suggests the authorities may want someone to take charge who the fans do not already have an opinion about. They may have thoughts on him from other La Liga games, but he doesn’t have much previous of angering fans in El Clasico.
The game he has taken charge of between Spain’s two biggest clubs was the Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia in the 2021/22 season. That one ended 3-2 to Real Madrid after extra time.
