Barcelona have reportedly filed a complaint with the Spanish FA over the performance of the referee in Saturday's El Clasico at Camp Nou.
With the score level at 1-1 on the hour mark, Sergio Ramos appeared to go down easily under contact from Clement Lenglet in the Barcelona box. Following consultation with VAR, Juan Martinez Munuera awarded a penalty to Real Madrid.
Sergio Ramos gives Madrid a 2-1 lead from the penalty spot ⚪
Should he have had the penalty for this pull on his jersey in the first place, though? 🤔
The referee awarded the spot kick after a lengthy VAR review 👀 pic.twitter.com/SCQyVpPuhS— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) October 24, 2020
Ramos was able to recover and convert to give Los Blancos a 2-1 lead. Luka Modric then added a third in the 90th minute to seal a 3-1 victory for Zinedine Zidane's side.
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman was furious in his post-match press conference saying it seems that VAR is "only used to make decisions against Barca".
The Spanish newspaper SPORT has now claimed that Martinez Munuera comes from a family with "deep Madridista ties".
#PortadaSPORT 📰
🔥 "Martínez Munuera es un madridista confeso"
🔵🔴 El Barça presenta una queja a Rubiales por su polémica actuación
▶️ https://t.co/CWueF714Tx pic.twitter.com/kBGxOLN13q— Diario SPORT (@sport) October 25, 2020
SPORT visited Martinez Munuera’s hometown of Villajoyosa in Valencia, and report that the official “grew up in an environment dominated by Real”.
"Help for Madrid from this referee is nothing new, like in Madrid-Getafe last year," the paper states.
It is also claimed that Martinez Munuera's father, Juan Ramon, is a founder of a Real Madrid fan club called Los Amigos de Benidorm.
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