La Liga Names Gil Manzano Referee for Barcelona Getafe Clash

Barcelona will face Getafe at Spotify Camp Nou on Saturday evening with Jesús Gil Manzano appointed as the on-field referee and Daniel Trujillo assigned to Video Assistant Referee duties. The La Liga appointments, reported by Mundo Deportivo and covered by Goal.com on October 9, have drawn attention because of Gil Manzano's previous involvement in a Barcelona match featuring Hansi Flick's dismissal and controversy surrounding Trujillo's recent VAR work. Gil Manzano will oversee his fourth La Liga fixture of the season and his first involving Barcelona during the current campaign.

According to figures cited in the report, he has officiated 45 Barcelona matches in Spain's top division, making the Catalan club the second most frequently refereed team in his career, behind Real Madrid with 58 appearances. Barcelona have recorded 28 wins, eight draws and nine defeats across those 45 matches. Their most recent loss under Gil Manzano was a 1-2 defeat against Real Sociedad last January, while his last home assignment involving the Catalans was a 2-1 victory over Girona almost a year ago.

That Girona match remains significant for Flick because Gil Manzano sent off the Barcelona coach during the game. Despite the incident, the referee has now been selected to oversee another Barcelona fixture, this time against Getafe.

Getafe's historical record under Gil Manzano is less favorable. The referee has handled 19 of their La Liga matches, producing five wins, three draws and 11 defeats, according to the report. The Madrid-based club's most recent match officiated by Gil Manzano ended in a 0-1 home defeat against Espanyol last December. The upcoming fixture will also mark the third time he has refereed a meeting between Barcelona and Getafe.

Both previous encounters under Gil Manzano ended with Barcelona winning 2-0. The first took place in the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16 during the 2013-2014 season, while the second was played on September 28, 2019, in La Liga. Trujillo's appointment as VAR official also follows scrutiny of his work during the most recent Madrid derby between Atlético and Real Madrid, which Atlético won 2-0. Real Madrid subsequently raised complaints about several refereeing decisions, including incidents involving Cristian Romero and Kang-in Lee.

The Referees' Technical Committee acknowledged an error involving Kang-in Lee, confirming that the Atlético player should have received a red card for a violent challenge on Fede Valverde. The committee also stated that the VAR official should have intervened. Trujillo's return to VAR duties for Barcelona's match suggests that the committee did not consider his performance in the derby to warrant a more serious assessment, according to the report. The Barcelona-Getafe fixture will therefore bring together a referee with extensive experience involving both clubs and a VAR official whose recent assignment attracted scrutiny.