In Barcelona, the pre-match ceremony at El Clásico created its own talking point before Juan Martínez Munuera had blown the opening whistle. The Alicante referee greeted the Barcelona players during the formal line-up but appeared to pass the Real Madrid group without offering the same handshake.
The news from the club
The contrast was noticed immediately around the pitch. Martínez Munuera walked past the Madrid players after greeting Barcelona’s squad, although he did shake hands with Kylian Mbappé before moving on through the line.
Despite that awkward protocol moment, the referee’s overall management of his fifth Barcelona-Real Madrid meeting was viewed positively. He kept control of a fixture marked by frequent confrontations between players and prevented those disputes from escalating further.
There was an acceptance that Martínez Munuera could have produced a few more yellow cards, but none of his decisions was considered decisive to the course of the match.
The main refereeing disputes
Real Madrid’s strongest appeal came after João Cancelo caught Yan Diomande on the calf with his studs. Madrid players called for a red card, yet Martínez Munuera did not show any card and VAR did not ask him to review the incident.
Madrid also appealed for a penalty when Alejandro Balde handled the ball inside Barcelona’s area. The on-field referee and the video officials concluded that the contact did not merit a spot kick.
