{"id":60811,"date":"2026-01-02T17:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weisetech.dev\/fc-barcelona-noticias\/en\/victor-garcia-verdura-referee-for-espanyol-barca-derby_315655_102\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T17:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:13:00","slug":"victor-garcia-verdura-referee-for-espanyol-barca-derby_315655_102","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fcbarcelonanoticias.com\/en\/laliga\/victor-garcia-verdura-referee-for-espanyol-barca-derby_315655_102.html","title":{"rendered":"V\u00edctor Garc\u00eda Verdura: Catalan referee for the Espanyol-Bar\u00e7a derby in LaLiga"},"content":{"rendered":"
FC Barcelona<\/strong> visits Espanyol<\/strong> this Saturday, January 3, 2026 (9:00 PM CEST) for matchday 18 of LaLiga, and will do so under the refereeing of V\u00edctor Garc\u00eda Verdura<\/strong>. The Catalan referee was appointed for the derby by the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA)<\/a> along with Juan Luis Pulido Santana<\/strong> (VAR).<\/p> This season, Garc\u00eda Verdura has refereed 8 league matches, none for Espanyol or Bar\u00e7a. The 31-year-old referee was the main official in the ‘pericos” victory against Atl\u00e8tic Lleida (1-2) in the first round of the Copa del Rey. The Catalans, however, have not played a match with the Matar\u00f3 native as the main referee since the 2024 Joan Gamper Trophy<\/a> (a 0-3 defeat against Monaco)<\/p> The Catalan referee debuted in LaLiga in the 23\/24 season. So far, he has officiated 46 matches in LaLiga with a record of 7 expulsions<\/strong>, 5 of them direct red cards. Due to the territoriality criterion, he has not been the main referee in any match involving Bar\u00e7a or Espanyol, except for the aforementioned precedents.<\/p> In the case of the ‘pericos’, it was a **Cup duel between Catalan teams**. For the blaugrana side, a pre-season friendly. From the 25\/26 season onwards, however, the CTA president, Fran Soto, has broken with the territorial criterion for League derbies<\/p> Jos\u00e9 Luis Munuera Montero <\/strong>(Andalusia), for example, was selected for the Sevilla-Betis match on matchday 14, while Juan Mart\u00ednez Munuera <\/strong>(Valencia) was assigned to the postponed Levante-Villarreal match from J17. The same applies to Miguel \u00c1ngel Ortiz Arias <\/strong>(Madrid), the main referee for Rayo-Getafe, also from matchday 18.<\/p> The only precedent in La Liga for an Espanyol-Bar\u00e7a derby with a Catalan referee dates back more than 78 years, in the 1947\/48 season<\/strong>. On December 7, 1947, Ram\u00f3n Az\u00f3n Roma <\/b>officiated the ‘blanquiazul’ team’s victory (2-1) at Sarri\u00e0. The ‘cul\u00e9s’ were champions that season, with Valencia finishing as runners-up.<\/p> The appointment of V\u00edctor Garc\u00eda Verdura as the referee for the Catalan derby on matchday 18, however, was not well received by the ‘perico’ coach, Manolo Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a>. The Galician coach believes that it puts extra pressure on the referee to officiate a derby in Cornell\u00e0, the hottest match in recent years between Catalan teams due to its context.<\/p> How has Bar\u00e7a fared in matches officiated by Garc\u00eda Verdura?<\/h2>
Historic Referee Appointment for Espanyol-Bar\u00e7a<\/h2>