Meet the referee in charge of Saturday’s El Clasico

The Spanish Football Federation have appointed referee Mateu Lahoz as the man in charge of Saturday’s meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona in what will be the last El Clasico of the 2020-2021 season.

This will be a decisive game, given that both sides are fighting to cut Atletico de Madrid’s current lead in the table. Mateu Lahoz’s style is unusual, as he tends to allow teams to play with intensity and physicality, contrary to what some of his other colleagues do in La Liga.

Real Madrid beat FC Barcelona 1-3 at the Camp Nou last October. This time, Los Blancos will have to play the game just four days after beating Liverpool 3-1 and barely three days before the return leg at Anfield, so coach Zinedine Zidane and his staff will need to make sure that every player is fresh and ready to go, given that Barcelona will be rested.