Javier Alberola Rojas to referee Atletico Madrid v Barcelona after Mbappe penalty controversy

Javier Alberola Rojas has been appointed referee for Sunday’s La Liga meeting between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, a fixture with major significance in the title race.

Javier Iglesias Villanueva will serve as the video assistant referee (VAR), according to Mundo Deportivo. It is the second high-profile refereeing appointment of the season for Iglesias Villanueva.

Alberola Rojas, 34, was born in Ciudad Real and is regarded as one of the leading emerging referees in Spanish football. He recently made his UEFA Champions League debut, despite being part of UEFA’s Group One refereeing category.

Sunday’s match will be Alberola Rojas’ seventh La Liga appearance of the current season. It will also be the first time he has refereed Atletico Madrid against Barcelona in the top flight.

The game is scheduled for 08 November 2026.

Record with both clubs

Alberola Rojas has officiated 21 La Liga matches involving Atletico Madrid. The club have won 12 of those games, drawn four and lost five.

His most recent Atletico match came against Sevilla on the third matchday of this season. Atletico won 3-1 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.

He also took charge of the 2026 Copa del Rey final, in which Atletico Madrid lost to Real Sociedad on penalties. The final finished 2-2 after extra time at La Cartuja.

Barcelona have won 10 of the 13 La Liga matches in which Alberola Rojas has been the referee, drawing two and losing one.

His last Barcelona appointment was in February, when they beat Levante 3-0 at Spotify Camp Nou. Their only defeat under him came on 20 May 2023, when they were beaten 2-1 by Real Sociedad at home.

Referee at centre of Mbappe incident

Alberola Rojas’ appointment comes after he was involved in a controversial decision during last season’s meeting between Real Madrid and Girona.

The match, played in April 2026, ended 1-1 after a late incident prompted strong protests from Real Madrid. France forward Kylian Mbappe was struck in the face inside the penalty area by Brazilian defender Vitor Reis, leaving him with a cut and bleeding above his right eyebrow.

Alberola Rojas did not award Real Madrid a penalty, and the VAR official did not intervene to ask for the decision to be reviewed or changed.

Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa said at the time that his side deserved a penalty. He also criticised the way certain contentious incidents were handled, referring to the role of VAR and the limits of its involvement in refereeing decisions.

The incident generated extensive debate in the Spanish media and renewed discussion over controversial refereeing decisions in La Liga.