Real Madrid v Barcelona: Referee Juan Martinez Munuera given 5.75 rating after Clasico

Juan Martinez Munuera received a mixed assessment for his performance as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first Clasico of the La Liga season at Spotify Camp Nou.

The referee was awarded 5.75 out of 10 by Archivo VAR, a website specialising in controversial refereeing decisions.

Archivo VAR said Martinez Munuera had to work to calm the atmosphere from the opening minutes. He avoided showing yellow cards too quickly, believing it was important not to set an excessively lenient standard in a match of such intensity. That approach was judged to be correct.

The referee was considered impartial throughout the first half, although his task became more difficult after the interval. He had to rule on two contentious incidents and reached broadly acceptable conclusions, handling one of them perfectly while his decision in the other was not entirely convincing.

Martinez Munuera also lacked consistency in the closing stages, when he failed to show a clear yellow card to Eduardo Camavinga. Despite that omission, Archivo VAR concluded that he had managed an extremely difficult game with more positive aspects than negative ones.

The assessment identified two mistakes in his handling of disciplinary decisions, while crediting him with several correct calls in other incidents.

One of the disputed moments involved Joao Cancelo’s challenge on Diomande, which came close to exceeding the limits of an acceptable tackle. The incident appeared particularly severe in a still image, but the video showed it was a coming together that left a scratch on the opponent’s leg.

Archivo VAR said the challenge clearly warranted a yellow card and criticised the referee for not taking action.

The site, however, fully supported Martinez Munuera’s decision not to award a potential penalty when Alejandro Balde touched the ball with his hand. The incident included three simultaneous touches within the space of just one second, making the contact accidental rather than deliberate.

As a result, the handball did not constitute an offence and no penalty should have been given. Archivo VAR described the referee’s decision in that case as entirely correct.