What’s the story?
The Spanish Officiating Committee has chosen Gil Manzano to officiate El Clasico on April 23. According to Spanish outlet Marca, the Officiating committee are happy with his officiating in big games during the season.
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The Spaniard had previously officiated in the Copa del Rey semi-final between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, and obviously the now infamous tie between Villarreal and Real Madrid.
In case you didn’t know..
Gil Manzano was in-charge of the game between Real Madrid and Villarreal which was the heart of controversy for a penalty which was awarded in favour of the Madrid giants. The Yellow Sumabrine were 2-0 up, only for Gil to point to the penalty spot when a ricochet hit the hand of Villarreal captain Bruno Soriano.
After the game, Villarreal president Fernando Roig accused the referees to be biased towards the La Liga leaders. The referee and his assistants were pictured leaving the stadium holding plastic bags with the Real Madrid logo on it, “Gil Manzano and his assistants left the stadium with Real Madrid bags. That’s not right, it seems to me”.
The heart of the matter
Given the rivalry between the two clubs, the decision is sure to garner a lot of eyeballs. The Villarreal result had already seen a lot of talk on Social media on the Gil, even from Barcelona players like Gerard Pique. He had taken to social media to point out various refereeing mistakes which Real Madrid had benefited from.
This inevitably puts a lot of pressure on Gil Manzano and his assistants.
What’s Next?
This just adds to the drama of the El Clasico. There is no doubt to the fact that Gil Manzano is one of the brighter referees in the La Liga, but his card happy nature in a crunch game such as the El Clasico is a worry.
He sent three players off in the Copa del Rey semi-final between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and with the El Clasico likely to decide the winner of the La Liga this season, his appointment represents a huge risk.
Author’s Take
Although yet unconfirmed, his appointment for the El Clasico is going to generate a lot of unwarranted attention to the referee. The magnitude of the game puts the referees in a lot of pressure anyway, and his history will put him under more pressure.
A card happy referee, a history of poor decisions in the recent past, and El Clasico, well at least it can’t get worse. (Except it can)
