In the 2021 Spanish Super Cup, Don Benito’s referee showed the Argentine the only red card of his career at club level.
Jesús Gil Manzano is the designated referee who will referee the Clásico this Saturday, October 28 in Montjuic, where Barcelona and Real Madrid will play their match corresponding to matchday 11 of LaLiga.
Who is Jesús Gil Manzano, the referee of the Classic Barcelona vs. Real Madrid from LaLiga 2023-2024: history, statistics and precedents with both teams
It has already been written that Madrid has done much better than Barça when Gil Manzano whistles, and the Catalans will never forget the evening when the braid became the only referee who could send off Lionel Messi in an official match at club level.
Jesús Gil Manzano, referee of the Classic Barcelona vs. Real Madrid are the only ones to have sent Messi away at club level
In January 2021, Barcelona finished the final of the Spanish Super Cup, losing 2-3 to Athletic Club de Bilbao. The image of total madness was that of Leo Messi almost losing Asier Villalibre at the end of extra time, when the ‘Lions’ striker crossed his path. After reviewing the action in VAR, Gil Manzano showed him the red card as he judged it to have been an attack without the ball.
Only red in more than 880 matches at club level
Leo Messi has played more than 880 games at club level and has only seen one red card, that of Gil Manzano in that Super Cup. Moreover, the man from Rosario saw a card of that color on his debut with the Argentina national team in a friendly match against Hungary in 2005 (minute 65).
That was the first of the three red cards Leo Messi had seen so far as a professional footballer. If the third was the one that Gil Manzano showed him, the second would have come in mid-2019, when in the match for third place in the Copa América he was sent off in a tense match against Chile, about 37 minutes into the first half.
Source: Goal