Barcelona face controversial referee Juan Martinez Munuera in Sevilla clash

The Spanish Football Federation has appointed Juan Martinez Munuera to referee Barcelona’s meeting with Sevilla at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Saturday, renewing a series of contentious incidents involving the Catalan club.

Raul Martin Gonzalez will be in charge of the video assistant referee (VAR) for the La Liga fixture, according to the appointments announced by the refereeing committee for the seventh round of matches.

The appointment brings back memories of several disputed decisions involving Martinez Munuera and Barcelona during the previous season.

Controversy in the Copa del Rey

The Valencian official refereed the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in February.

That match was overshadowed by his decision not to send off Giuliano Simeone for a forceful challenge on Alejandro Balde. Martinez Munuera showed the Atletico Madrid player a yellow card, while VAR official Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes did not intervene to recommend a review.

The decision angered Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and led the club to consider submitting an official complaint.

Later in the same match, Martinez Munuera disallowed a goal by young defender Pau Cubarsi for offside following a review that lasted about seven minutes. The refereeing committee later acknowledged there had been a problem with the semi-automated offside system and confirmed that the lines had eventually been drawn manually.

Barcelona lost the game 4-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano before winning the second leg 3-0. Martinez Munuera was involved in the return match as the VAR official.

The “thank God” incident

The most widely discussed episode involving Martinez Munuera and Barcelona came during the clasico in May 2025, when he was working in the VAR room.

A stoppage-time goal by Fermin Lopez was ruled out for handball after a review. Audio from the VAR room captured the words “thank God”, and the Catalan newspaper Sport reported that the voice belonged to Martinez Munuera as he alerted referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez to the infringement.

The refereeing committee and the Spanish Federation explained the comment as expressing “relief at discovering the infringement before the goal was awarded”. The incident nevertheless caused considerable debate in Catalan football circles.

Martinez Munuera’s Barcelona record

Martinez Munuera has been a regular referee for Barcelona since 2013 and has overseen more than 30 of their matches.

His appointments include two finals: the 2021 Copa del Rey final, in which Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0, and the 2024 Spanish Super Cup final, which Barcelona lost 4-1 to Real Madrid.

During the 2025-2026 season, he refereed three Barcelona matches. They beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 and Sevilla 5-2 on 15 March 2026, while they suffered a 4-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey.

Saturday’s match at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan will be Martinez Munuera’s first involving Hansi Flick’s side in the 2026-2027 season.