La Liga have appointed international referee Jesús Gil Manzano to take charge of tomorrow's clash between Barcelona and Getafe at the Spotify Camp Nou, with Daniel Trujillo on Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duty for the Saturday evening fixture.
According to "Mundo Deportivo", the choice of Gil Manzano stirs an unpleasant memory for German coach Hansi Flick. The same referee sent him off during the last home match he officiated for Barcelona against Girona, a 2-1 win for the Catalans almost a year ago.
Trujillo, meanwhile, worked as VAR during the last Madrid derby between Atlético and Real Madrid, which Atlético won 2-0.
His return to the role suggests the Referees' Technical Committee believe he made no serious error in that encounter.
That derby was littered with refereeing controversy. Real Madrid lodged complaints afterwards over several incidents, most notably the failure to send off the Atlético pair of Cristian Romero and Kang-in Lee.
The Referees' Committee did at the time admit that on-field referee Ortiz Arias had erred over Kang-in Lee, confirming the player deserved a red card for a violent challenge on Fede Valverde and that the VAR official should have intervened.
Gil Manzano's fourth assignment this season
Barcelona against Getafe will be Gil Manzano's fourth La Liga fixture of the campaign, and his first involving the Catalans this season.
The Spanish official has taken charge of 45 Barcelona matches in the top flight. That makes the Catalans the second club he has refereed most, behind Real Madrid at 58.
Across those 45 Barcelona games, the team have racked up 28 wins, 8 draws and 9 defeats.
Their last defeat under Gil Manzano came in a 1-2 loss to Real Sociedad last January. The last home match he officiated for them was the win over Girona by the same score almost a year ago, the game in which Flick saw red.
Barcelona and Getafe's record with Manzano
Getafe tell a different story. Gil Manzano has handled 19 of their La Liga matches, with 5 wins, 3 draws and 11 defeats.
Their most recent outing under him was a 0-1 home defeat to Espanyol last December.
Gil Manzano has refereed two previous meetings between Barcelona and Getafe, both finishing 2-0 to the Catalans. The first came in the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16 in 2013-2014, the second on 28 September 2019 in La Liga.