CONFIRMED: This is the referee who will direct the Real Sociedad-FC Barcelona

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has announced the referee who will be in charge of officiating the match that Barcelona will play next Sunday against Real Sociedad, valid for matchday 13 of LaLiga EA Sports. In this match, Barça will look to continue their positive sporting momentum, which they are experiencing both in the local tournament, where they have gone four consecutive matches without defeat, with several victories and positioning themselves as the absolute leader, as well as in the UEFA Champions League, where they recently thrashed Red Star (2-5).

Anecdotally, the referee officiating this match may represent a somewhat negative memory for FC Barcelona. Why? Because the highest governing body of Spanish football has appointed Guillermo Cuadra Fernández as the main referee, with Carlos del Cerro Grande supporting him in VAR.

⚖️ REFEREES | These are the referees appointed for matchday 1️⃣3️⃣ in the 2024/25 Season of 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨́𝐧.

🟨🟥 Full appointments: https://t.co/GNYkJdBdbz#ArbitrajeRFEF | @CTARFEF pic.twitter.com/Irgdp5Av1K

— RFEF (@rfef) November 7, 2024

The most recent negative precedent for FC Barcelona with Cuadra Fernández comes from this same season. The referee, a native of Madrid, officiated the match between CA Osasuna and Barça (4-2), which currently stands as the only defeat for the Catalan team this campaign.

In that match, there was some controversy due to a specific play, featuring Lucas Torró stepping on Pau Víctor, which was punishable, but was not called. This led to the recovery of the ball by CA Osasuna and, in turn, to a goal scored by Bryan Zaragoza. Additionally, a penalty was also claimed for Lamine Yamal just before the end of the match, which was not awarded despite the push from Abel Bretones on the '19' Barça player.

FC Barcelona's history with Cuadra Fernández as referee

However, beyond this recent negative precedent, Barcelona can say they have a good record when Cuadra Fernández officiates. Since the 2018-19 season, the Barcelona team has been part of matches officiated by the Madrid referee on at least 17 occasions, of which Barça has won 13 matches, drawn two, and lost only two.

And how has Real Sociedad fared when Cuadra Fernández officiates their matches?

Real Sociedad has also not fared too badly when Cuadra Fernández is in charge of the officiating. In the three matches he has officiated involving the 'txuri-urdin' team, the Basques have won seven, drawn two, and lost only four, with the most recent being the match from matchday six of the 2024-25 season in LaLiga EA Sports against Real Valladolid, which ended 0-0.