Jesus Gil Manzano appointed for Barcelona v Getafe after Madrid derby VAR controversy

Jesus Gil Manzano will referee Barcelona’s La Liga meeting with Getafe at Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday evening, despite a previous disciplinary controversy involving the Catalan club.

La Liga has named the international official as the match referee, with Daniel Trujillo appointed as the video assistant referee (VAR).

Gil Manzano’s appointment recalls his most recent match involving Barcelona at home. He officiated their 2-1 victory over Girona almost a year ago, a game in which he issued a red card to German manager Hans Flick.

Trujillo was the VAR official for the most recent Madrid derby between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid, which Atletico won 2-0. That match included several contentious decisions, with Real Madrid complaining afterwards about a number of incidents.

Among the main points raised were the failure to send off Atletico players Christian Romero and Kang-in Lee. The refereeing committee later acknowledged that referee Ortiz Arias had made an error in the incident involving Kang-in Lee, concluding that the player should have been dismissed for a forceful challenge on Fede Valverde.

The committee also said the VAR official should have intervened in that situation. However, Trujillo’s appointment for the Barcelona fixture suggests the refereeing technical committee does not consider his performance in the derby to have amounted to a serious error.

Gil Manzano’s record with Barcelona

The match against Getafe will be Gil Manzano’s fourth La Liga appointment of the current season and his first involving Barcelona.

He has previously refereed 45 Barcelona matches in the Spanish top flight, making them the second club he has officiated most often. Real Madrid lead that list, having had him in charge for 58 matches.

Barcelona have won 28 of the 45 games overseen by Gil Manzano, drawing eight and losing nine. Their most recent defeat with him as referee came against Real Sociedad, a 2-1 loss in January.

His last Barcelona home fixture was the 2-1 win against Girona in which Flick was sent off.

Record in Barcelona and Getafe meetings

Gil Manzano has refereed 19 La Liga matches involving Getafe. They have recorded five wins, three draws and 11 defeats in those games.

His most recent Getafe match came in December, when they lost 1-0 at home to Espanyol.

The referee has also taken charge of two previous meetings between Barcelona and Getafe. Both ended in 2-0 victories for Barcelona.

The first was the second leg of the 2013-14 Copa del Rey round of 16. The second took place on 28 September 2019 in La Liga.