Digital Irony on the Copa: Barca and Atletico Face Off Under a Referee Spotlight
11 February 2026
Overview
The Spanish Football Federation has announced the match official for Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg, set to be played Thursday at the Metropolitano stadium.
International referee Juan Martínez Munuera, from Valencia, will oversee the game, with Pablo González Fuertes serving as the VAR and Juan Luis Polido Santana as the assistant VAR official.
According to Mundo Deportivo, this will be Munuera's third Barcelona-Atletico assignment this season and his second for Barcelona in 2025/26.
Earlier meetings include his 2-0 Atletico win over Real Betis in October, and a draw at Anoeta against Real Sociedad in round 18; for Barcelona, he presided over their 3-0 Camp Nou win against Oviedo.
Interestingly, this will be the first time Munuera has refereed the two sides since joining La Liga in the 2013-2014 season.
To date, Atletico Madrid have played 37 matches under his whistle, recording 22 wins, 8 draws and 7 losses.
For Barcelona, the referee has overseen 34 matches with 22 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses.
Punchline: If football officiating were stand-up, this ref would be a sniper—always landing the right call just when the crowd is about to explode.
Punchline: And if the VAR ever takes a coffee break, you can bet the scoreboard will forgive us all… for a few seconds of chaos before sanity returns.
