The Technical Committee of Referees has reportedly altered its appointment plans for the upcoming El Clásico encounter between Barcelona and Real Madrid following sustained complaints from José Mourinho. According to sports journalist Roberto Gómez, speaking on the program La Tribu, referee Hernández Hernández was originally selected to officiate the high-profile fixture but will no longer take charge of the match.
Gómez stated that the Portuguese manager’s vocal dissatisfaction regarding the premature leaking of the referee’s identity proved decisive in forcing a reevaluation. When pressed directly on whether the modification was a direct result of the manager’s protests, Gómez confirmed the connection, stating that Hernández Hernández would no longer officiate the fixture and explaining the committee’s motives.
The initial strategy of the refereeing body was to select an experienced official for the match. The committee had intended to rely on a World Cup-level referee who had not been heavily scrutinized or worn down during the current season. However, public complaints from the Real Madrid manager disrupted those preparations. Gómez asserted that the governing body ultimately sought to avoid providing the manager with any further grounds for public contention.
Following the shift, the identity of the replacement referee remains unconfirmed, with speculation turning toward other officials such as Alberola or Sánchez Martínez. The committee had previously convened to discuss the assignment, but the fallout from the early disclosure has opened the door for a new appointment.
The discussion also touched upon broader referee controversies, including a scheduled meeting between Fran Soto and representatives from Sevilla to review officiating decisions from a recent match at the Santiago Bernabéu. Gómez questioned the necessity and transparency of such meetings, arguing that the head of the refereeing committee is not obligated to personally justify individual on-field rulings to clubs or other parties, a position that drew counterarguments regarding the value of reviewing available footage with teams to clarify controversial decisions.
During the same analysis, Gómez noted that an early incident involving Arda Güler, where a potential red card could have occurred in the twenty-fifth minute with the score tied, might have altered the course of the match, though he cautioned against attributing the subsequent defeats of teams like Sevilla and Betis entirely to refereeing controversies. He also defended television broadcast directors against criticism regarding missing replays of certain incidents at the Bernabéu, explaining that broadcast priorities focus primarily on following the ball rather than monitoring isolated off-ball actions. Despite these wider discussions surrounding officiating transparency and broadcast coverage, the primary development centers on the upcoming fixture and the revised referee assignment driven by managerial pressure.
