Clásico referees: how Madrid and Barça do with each one
We compare each club's points with every current referee against what the bookmakers expected, in all La Liga matches from 2000/01 to 2025/26. No referee's difference stands out from chance.
Next Clásico, Sunday, 25 October 2026: Juan Martínez Munuera referees. With him, results have been about even.
Madrid did clearly better
a gap of 3 points or more per 10 matches
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César Soto Grado Madrid +1.8, Barça −6.7; 23 matches with Madrid, 15 matches with Barça Gap 8.5 points per 10 matches, Madrid side. His matches, penalties and cards -
Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos Few matches Madrid +5.5, Barça −1.4; 12 matches with Madrid, 7 matches with Barça Gap 6.9 points per 10 matches, Madrid side. His matches, penalties and cards -
Jesús Gil Manzano Madrid +4.5, Barça −1.6; 51 matches with Madrid, 36 matches with Barça Gap 6.1 points per 10 matches, Madrid side. His matches, penalties and cards -
José Luis Munuera Montero Madrid +6.0, Barça +0.3; 16 matches with Madrid, 23 matches with Barça Gap 5.7 points per 10 matches, Madrid side. His matches, penalties and cards
About even
a gap under 3 points
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Alejandro Hernández Hernández Madrid −1.9, Barça −1.5; 37 matches with Madrid, 35 matches with Barça Gap 0.4 points per 10 matches, about even. His matches, penalties and cards - Referees the next Clásico Juan Martínez Munuera Madrid +0.2, Barça +0.8; 40 matches with Madrid, 29 matches with Barça Gap 0.6 points per 10 matches, about even. His matches, penalties and cards
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Adrián Cordero Vega Few matches Madrid −2.5, Barça −1.3; 5 matches with Madrid, 8 matches with Barça Gap 1.2 points per 10 matches, about even. His matches, penalties and cards -
José María Sánchez Martínez Madrid +1.0, Barça +3.3; 35 matches with Madrid, 29 matches with Barça Gap 2.3 points per 10 matches, about even. His matches, penalties and cards
Barça did clearly better
a gap of 3 points or more per 10 matches
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Mateo Busquets Ferrer Few matches Madrid +1.6, Barça +5.4; 6 matches with Madrid, 6 matches with Barça Gap 3.8 points per 10 matches, Barça side. His matches, penalties and cards -
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea Madrid +0.3, Barça +4.2; 23 matches with Madrid, 28 matches with Barça Gap 3.9 points per 10 matches, Barça side. His matches, penalties and cards -
Javier Alberola Rojas Few matches Madrid −2.6, Barça +2.5; 14 matches with Madrid, 12 matches with Barça Gap 5.1 points per 10 matches, Barça side. His matches, penalties and cards
Bars and big numbers: the gap between the clubs, in points per 10 matches, drawn toward the club that did better. Small numbers: each club's points against the bookmakers' expectation; plus means better than expected. Open a referee's row for his matches, penalties and cards. How to read the numbers
No verdict yet: under 5 matches with either club
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Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias0 matches with Madrid, 10 matches with Barça -
Francisco José Hernández Maeso4 matches with Madrid, 3 matches with Barça -
Alejandro Quintero González3 matches with Madrid, 3 matches with Barça -
Miguel Sesma Espinosa1 match with Madrid, 1 match with Barça -
Víctor García Verdura2 matches with Madrid, 0 matches with Barça -
Carlos Muñiz MuñozPromoted for 2026/27, no Primera matches yet in the sample -
Jon Ander González EstebanPromoted for 2026/27, no Primera matches yet in the sample -
Luis Bestard ServeraPromoted for 2026/27, no Primera matches yet in the sample -
Manuel Jesús Orellana CidPromoted for 2026/27, no Primera matches yet in the sample
How to read the numbers
What does “per 10 matches” mean?
An average for every 10 games, calculated from all available La Liga matches each club played with that referee, against any opponent. This lets you compare referees with different match counts.
We use the full available record, not just the latest 10 games or only Clásicos.
Example
Across 20 matches, Madrid took 4 points more than the bookmakers expected. That averages out to +2 per 10 matches.
- Result score
- A club's actual points minus the points the bookmakers expected before each match (from the pre-match odds with the bookmaker's margin removed), per 10 matches. Positive means better than expected.
- Groups
- Madrid's result score minus Barça's, in points per 10 matches. A gap of 3 or more puts a referee in "Madrid did clearly better" or "Barça did clearly better"; under 3 is "About even". 5 to 14 matches with either club adds a "Few matches" tag; under 5, no verdict.
Higher positive figures show favourable recorded outcomes. They do not establish decision accuracy or anything about a referee's intent. Small samples produce extreme rates, so treat anything under 15 matches cautiously.
Across the 23 current referee and club outcome tests, the smallest adjusted q-value is 0.094. None is below 0.05, so no referee's record here is statistically distinguishable from chance at the usual threshold. That is not the same as proving every effect is zero.
Sources
- El Colegiado, La Liga refereeing data (matches, odds, cards, penalties; CC BY-NC 4.0 and CC BY-SA 4.0, with data from football-data.co.uk)
- El Colegiado, methodology
- RFEF CTA, current referee list
Fan project. Figures are recorded outcomes computed from El Colegiado's open data. They describe statistical deviations and are not evidence of misconduct by any referee. Club colours are used for identification only.