Who is José María Sánchez Martínez, the referee for Athletic Club vs Barcelona in the Copa del Rey?

Refereeing controversy has been the theme of the week in Spain following Real Madrid’s VAR-assisted LaLiga victory over Almería on Sunday. With that in mind, man in the middle José María Sánchez Martínez is likely to come under plenty of scrutiny when Athletic Club host Barcelona in the pick of the Copa del Rey quarter-final ties on Wednesday.

Barça are, of course, no strangers to polemic themselves given they are in the midst of being investigated for making payments worth millions of euros to the vice president of the Spanish referees committee, José María Enríquez Negreira, between 2001 and 2018.

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What have Barcelona said about Real Madrid’s VAR controversy?

However, the focus at present is very much on Real Madrid, who found themselves 2-0 down to bottom-of-the-table Almería at half time, but ended up winning 3-2 after three on-field decisions were controversially overturned in their favour in the second period.

Speaking after his team’s victory away to Real Betis hours later, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández heavily suggested Los Blancos received more favourable treatment from referees than their Clásico rivals, while club president Joan Laporta went a step further on Tuesday by claiming LaLiga had been “corrupted” by the decisions made at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu two days earlier.

Had Madrid lost, Barça would have reduced the gap to four points, although they would have remained eight behind surprise league leaders Girona, who have played one game more.

Barça handed tough Copa del Rey draw

While La Blaugrana face an uphill battle to retain their LaLiga title, their attention now turns to the Copa del Rey, a competition they are considered favourites for by some, especially after Real Madrid’s elimination to Atlético Madrid in the Round of 16. They could hardly have been handed a more difficult quarter-final tie, however, as they travel to San Mamés to take on Athletic Club de Bilbao, who are managed by former Barça boss Ernesto Valverde and were unbeaten in 14 games before losing to Valencia on Saturday.

Sánchez Martínez a good omen for Barça?

José María Sánchez Martínez has been appointed on-field referee for the match, which may prove to be a good omen for the Catalans. The 40-year-old, who was in the middle for last season’s Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Osasuna, has taken charge of 31 Barça games, 24 of which they have won (along with two draws and five defeats), although never against Athletic Club.

Sánchez Martínez, who began officiating in LaLiga in 2015 and became a FIFA listed referee two years later, has overseen 20 fixtures in total this season, including three in the Champions League. According to stats website Whoscored.com, the whistler has shown an average of just over six yellow cards per match and has shown three red cards (to Celta Vigo, Getafe and Sevilla).

Who is the VAR for Athletic Club - Barcelona?

The on-field referee will be assisted by VAR Eduardo Prieto Iglesias, who will likely be under additional pressure, if called upon, following the events at the Bernabéu at the weekend.

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