Juan Martínez Munuera will referee Barça-Oviedo in LaLiga's Matchday 21

FC Barcelona faces Real Oviedo this Sunday, January 25th (4:15 PM CEST) for matchday 21 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26, with Juan Martínez Munuera officiating. The Valencian referee was appointed by the Referees Technical Committee (CTA) along with Mario Melero López (VAR).

After the disastrous performance of Gil Manzano (main referee) and Del Cerro Grande (VAR) last matchday at Anoeta, the RFEF assigns Martínez Munuera to a Barça match for the first time since February 2024, in the blaugrana victory against Alavés (1-3) for matchday 23 of the 23/24 season.

Last season, the 43-year-old referee did not officiate any official Barça matches, while he has not officiated Oviedo either upon their return to La Liga this season. The Valencian referee officiated 8 La Liga 25/26 matches, two of them for Real Madrid (the 2-0 victory against Espanyol and the goalless draw against Rayo).

How has Barça fared in matches officiated by Juan Martínez Munuera?

In total, Barça played 33 matches with Juan Martínez Munuera as the main referee with a positive balance. The Catalans achieved 21 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses with the referee who has been officiating in LaLiga since 2013/14.

Barça's last loss in a match officiated by Martínez Munuera was in the 2024 Spanish Super Cup final (4-1 against Real Madrid). As a home referee, the 43-year-old had not officiated a Barça match since October 22, 2023, in the Catalan team's 1-0 victory against Athletic

At Camp Nou, the Valencian referee's last appearance was exactly one year prior, on October 23, 2022, in the thrashing against Athletic (4-0). Oviedo, on the other hand, has never played with Martínez Munuera as the main referee, with Sunday marking their first visit to Catalonia in 25 years.

Barça's record in matches officiated by Juan Martínez Munuera:

1. Games: 33
2. Wins: 21
3. Draws: 6
4. Losses: 6

Barça must return to the winning path in LaLiga to maintain their lead at the top

Against Oviedo, Barcelona will seek to return to winning ways in LaLiga, after the controversial defeat at Anoeta against Real Sociedad (2-1). This result brought Real Madrid to within 1 point of the lead, pending what happens on Saturday when the Whites visit Villarreal.

In the first leg, Barça defeated Oviedo at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere (1-3) with goals from **Eric García**, **Robert Lewandowski**, and **Ronald Araujo**, all in the second half to come back from Alberto Reina's initial goal in the first half. The Asturians arrive as the bottom team in the league with just a couple of wins, 13 points, and 11 goals scored in 20 matchdays.