Xavi’s irony after the appointment of Gil Manzano for the Clásico Barcelona – Real Madrid: “A computer detected it, this will be decided by draw, right?”

Xavi Hernández appeared this Friday for the match against Real Madrid on matchday 11 of LaLiga. The Barcelona coach was ironic when asked about the appointment of Jesús Gil Manzano as referee of the match. He also spoke about the injured people who could return to the game against the merengue team.

WHERE CAN YOU SEE LIVE BARCELONA USA? REAL MADRID

“It represents a lot. It is a classic, all players around the world want to play. We have arrived well, in terms of play and feelings. We have arrived after two victories. It would be a boost for morale and confidence. It is vital to the goal of winning the league “We would put ourselves ahead in the standings. Everyone wants to play. I am very happy with everyone’s efforts,” the Barcelona coach said.

About the injured and the return of some of them to training, he noted: “I was also surprised to see them in training: players we excluded want to be there. They all want to play in the classic. The feelings of everyone is very good and we have to wait until tomorrow for the list”.

“I won’t give any clues about the line-up, but it’s fine,” he said of Robert Lewandowski. “Everyone wants to force themselves to play. But the coaching staff doesn’t want to force anyone. They are committed to the team. We’ll see tomorrow,” he added about Pedri. “Those who are better will play, those who are 100 percent. We cannot make the mistake of not putting in those who are not 100 percent.”

Xavi’s irony about Gil Manzano

Perhaps Xavi’s most striking statement came when he was asked about Clásico referee Jesús Gil Manzano. “It seems to me that the computer has detected a referee, this is a draw, right? Well, I say the same. Let it be as fair as possible.”

It is very likely (too likely) that Xavi himself knows that the appointment of a referee for a Clásico is not decided by a computer. To appoint a First Division referee, a committee depends on the Technical Commission of Referees (CTA), which in turn is a body belonging to the Spanish Federation (RFEF).

There, within certain rules and restrictions, it is determined which referees will ‘play’ each match. If a referee cannot coach the same team two weeks in a row, he cannot coach the same team twice at home (or away) in the first round, and a referee assigned to a territorial federation cannot referee for a team from that autonomous area. .

In this sense, Gil Manzano’s appointment for the Classic depends on the CTA and is chosen based on several criteria. Generally, experience, international character and other aspects are taken into account, but in Spain the match referees are not chosen by lottery or computer, so it is clear that Xavi used irony to talk about Gil.

Gil Manzano’s history at Barça and Madrid, favorable for the whites

Real Madrid is the team he has refereed the most in his career with 47 games which have resulted in 37 meringue wins, 5 draws and 5 defeats. While directing 36 matches for Barça, with 22 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses.

At Real Madrid they remembered him very well from the 4-1 defeat against Valencia at Mestalla in which he scored three penalties against the whites. However, the Meringues won 78% of the matches in which Gil Manzano refereed, while Barcelona’s record drops to 61.11%.

In addition, during his career he sent off ten Barcelona players – including Luis Suárez, Neymar, Leo Messi (the only red card Argentina saw at club level) and Robert Lewandowski – for Real Madrid’s four (two of them Casemiro, one in a match ). Clásico in ’90), despite managing the capital’s team nine more times. The Catalans are also not bothered by the penalty kick balance: 6 for and 5 against, while Madrid was whistled 14 for and 7 against.

It will be Gil Manzano’s third classic

As for the classics, Gil Manzano whistled the third of his career after making his debut in this type of match in October 2014 and delivering justice in a 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in which the team, coached at the time by Carlo Ancelotti, defeated Luis Enrique’s Barça.

They played their second Clásico at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in the Real Madrid Sports City in Valdebebas. The match ended with a victory for Real Madrid (2-1) and with a controversial play in which Barcelona’s players demanded a penalty for grabbing Braithwaite. Moreover, he eventually sent Casemiro off for a double yellow.