Following the blunder: shocking rating for the referee of the Barcelona and Sevilla clash

Referee Martínez Munuera received a poor rating for his handling of the match between Sevilla and their visitors Barcelona, in the seventh round of La Liga, which ended in a 3-1 win for the Catalan side.

The website "Archivo VAR", which specialises in controversial refereeing situations, handed Martínez Munuera a rating of 4.25 out of 10.

According to Archivo VAR, Munuera was not up to the level of the match and made mistakes unbefitting a referee of his experience.

He performed largely well in the first half, particularly inside the two penalty areas. Then he lost control completely after the break because of one grave decision: he halted a promising Sevilla attack thanks to his very poor positioning on the pitch. He simply did not notice that Correa was breaking away unmarked down the flank and could have been one-on-one with the Barcelona goalkeeper.

Two more incidents stirred controversy. In the first half, Pau Cubarsí went down inside the penalty area after a slight pull that did not warrant anything. There was not even anything clearly indicating a shirt pull, and it is one of those calls left to the discretion of the on-field referee.

Lamine Yamal then called for a penalty, but there was nothing in it. The incident occurred outside the penalty area, and there was no clear foul either. Another one for the on-field referee to judge.