Referee may be changed for El Clásico after Mourinho’s statements — Interia Sport

In Spain, the main referee for Sunday’s El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou may be changed. According to Interia Sport, the refereeing committee initially selected José Hernández Hernández for the match, but he may not officiate the game.

Possible referee replacement

Interia Sport, citing Madrid-based Marca, writes that the situation may have changed after statements by Real Madrid coach José Mourinho. According to Roberto Gómez, the refereeing committee wants to avoid giving the Portuguese specialist additional grounds for criticism.

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Hernández Hernández has already officiated El Clásico matches. According to the publication, the committee considered his candidacy, including due to the referee’s experience at the World Cup. At the same time, it has not been definitively ruled out that another referee will oversee the match.

Context ahead of the match

Last weekend, Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium protested against La Liga president Javier Tebas and refereeing in the championship. Ahead of El Clásico, Barcelona had won all 11 matches of the season by margins of at least two goals. After nine La Liga rounds, Real trailed the Catalan team by six points.