El Clasico is always a fiery affair, and Saturday’s encounter was no difference. However, there were far less flashpoints during the match at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, which Real Madrid won 2-1.
This could be down to the refereeing performance of Jesus Gil Manzano, who officiated the fixture for the third time in his career. As per MD, the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) were delighted with Gil Manzano “excellent performance” during the Clasico.
The CTA felt that Gil Manzano handled the occasion very well, and especially in the case of the two more controversial moments, which could have seen penalties awarded to both teams. Ronald Araujo felt he was fouled by Aurelien Tchouameni in the first half, with Real Madrid claiming that Araujo felled Eduardo Camavinga in the second period.
Within the CTA, Gil Manzano is regarded as one of the leading referees, and his performance on Saturday only amplified that. He is one of the officials expected to be selected for next summer’s European Champions in Germany, which Spain will be going to.
