Referee César Soto Grado (Candeleda, Ávila, June 17, 1980), belonging to the Riojano Committee, will lead the derby between Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid this Sunday (9:00 p.m.). In turn, the Referees Technical Committee appointed the Valencian referee Juan Martínez Munuera as VAR referee for the same match.
LaLiga Santander
*Data updated as of May 5, 2022
This will be the seventh time he has managed Madrid this season with the following balance: five games directed as the main referee and one in the VAR. As a collegiate, Madrid won the Super Cup against Athletic in January in Saudi Arabia (2-0), apart from Alavés, on the first day of the League (1-4), Athletic (1-2) and Getafe (2 -0). He drew goalless against Osasuna, where left an image at the end of the meeting a bit controversial: he gave four added minutes in the second half, which caused the anger of the white players considering that the red team players had wasted more time. The referee’s response was as follows: “You’ve had 90 minutes, don’t come to me now protesting that if I put in a minute. No, no, I already know…”. After the match, several players complained about the scarcity of added time. For example, Carvajal complained in the flash interview after the match: “I don’t want it to be an excuse. Sergio Herrera he has only lost the four minutes, Arrasate has made two changes and they have walked away… it’s strange, ”argued the side. In addition, he was the VAR referee in the whites’ victory against Mallorca (6-1) at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
For its part, He has directed Atlético three times this season: the rojiblancos don’t know what it’s like to lose with this referee. They add a victory against Barcelona (2-0) at the Wanda Metropolitano and a draw against Villarreal (2-2), while away from their stadium they have another draw: against Valencia (3-3).