Barcelona's local sports media have claimed that the referee in Saturday's Clasico clash with Real Madrid, Martinez Munuera is 'a confessed Madridista' and have accused him of bias after awarding Madrid a penalty in their 3-1 win at Camp Nou.
In the second half Sergio Ramos fell to the floor after having his shirt tugged inside the area by Barca defender Clement Lenglet. After a lengthy VAR consultation, the penalty was awarded which Ramos himself slotted home.
But the incident did not end there. Both El Mundo Deportivo and Sport, Catalan-based newspapers, interviewed former referees who stated that the penalty should not have been given.
And Sport went one further, sending a journalist to Munuera's home town of Benidorm to investigate his background and where he grew up.
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Upon arriving in Benidorm it was 'discovered' that Munuera's father founded a Real Madrid youth team in Alicante called Los Amigos, and upon speaking to a former 'friend' of the referee, branded him as a 'confessed Madridista'.
🚨 #EXCLUSIVASPORT 🚨
— Diario SPORT (@sport) October 25, 2020
🤍💜 Martínez Munuera, de herencia madridista
🔙 El padre del árbitro del clásico fue fundador de la Peña Madridista 'Los Amigos de Benidorm'
✍️ @sanantheone
📽 @VALENRICH
▶️ https://t.co/Qv28yvnxlJ pic.twitter.com/WS4oO4fb9u
Fortunately, Barcelona fans, as well as everyone else, have led the condemnation of this 'exclusive' that plumbs new depths and could even threaten the safety of the referee in extreme circumstances.
But with newspapers to sell daily and playing to a certain type of audience, Sport may have already received the attention that they sought after.
Sergio Ramos 
Barcelona 
Real Madrid 
