Real Madrid went into the Clásico on 25 October with the match scheduled for Sunday and Juan Martinez Munuera appointed as referee, with Javier Iglesias Villanueva on VAR duty. GOAL said Real Madrid went into the Clásico amid deep dissatisfaction over the announcement of the refereeing team.
Refereeing team announced
GOAL said both referees' names circulated before their appointment was confirmed. GOAL said Jose Mourinho showed irritation after the win over Leipzig when he was asked about the possible names to take charge of the match.
Dealings with Javier Enriquez
According to GOAL, Martinez Munuera's professional dealings with Javier Enriquez, the son of Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, came to light through the judicial investigation, according to a report by okdiario journalist Ivan Martin. According to the same report cited by GOAL, Martínez Munuera used the mental coaching services of Javier Enríquez, paying for them by bank transfer. According to GOAL, his brother and assistant, Miguel Martínez Munuera, confirmed that Martínez Munuera had used those services. GOAL said Martínez Munuera defended his integrity publicly and insisted he had broken no law.
Previous complaints from Real Madrid
In May 2021 against Sevilla, Martínez Munuera first awarded a penalty for Karim Benzema before a review of an earlier Éder Militão handball resulted in a Sevilla penalty instead. That match ended 2-2.
In March 2024, Real Madrid lodged a complaint against Martínez Munuera with the disciplinary committee over the wording of his report on the match against Osasuna. Real Madrid accused Martínez Munuera of leaving out insults aimed at Vinícius from his report, despite their players flagging them to him. The referees' technical committee rejected Real Madrid's version, saying the audio recordings contained none of the alerts the club described. The federation delegate's report logged chants insulting the Brazilian.
Another disputed match
In February 2025, when Espanyol faced Real Madrid, Carlos Romero caught Mbappé with a strong challenge from behind and received a yellow card. The video assistant referee did not ask the referee to review that incident on the screen to decide whether it warranted a red card. Romero stayed on the pitch and scored the only goal of the game. Real Madrid lodged an official complaint and demanded the audio recordings of the incidents they felt had gone against them after that match. The report concluded: "Real Madrid wants the Clásico clash to be decided on the pitch. But it enters it burdened with numerous memories of matches that ended with it demanding explanations from the refereeing system."