According to Archivovar, despite rumors circulating this Wednesday, Canarian referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández is not a genuine candidate to officiate the El Clásico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Both the appointment process and his recent officiating history rule him out.

Starting this Wednesday, news widely circulated that Alejandro Hernández Hernández would be appointed as the head referee for the upcoming El Clásico. This sparked social media uproar: within hours, posts emerged reviewing his past officiating clips, analyses of his controversial decisions, and aggressive comments directed at him. The problem is that all of this was based on an appointment that simply does not exist.

It is necessary to calmly explain, as the reasons are straightforward.

No referee has been appointed yet.

First and foremost: as of now, no one knows who will officiate El Clásico. This is not a matter of secrecy, but of scheduling. Referee appointments are always made the week before the match, when the responsible committee meets to decide. El Clásico is still weeks away, so that meeting has not yet taken place.

This is a collective process involving multiple people, not a personal decision that can be made weeks in advance by one individual. Therefore, it is impossible to know the name of a referee for a match so far in advance: any appointment claimed as certain today is pure speculation.

He officiated the last El Clásico.

However, even if appointments were made weeks in advance, there is a fundamental issue with Hernández Hernández: he was the referee for the last El Clásico. He officiated the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid in Week 35 of last season, which took place on May 10, 2024.

There is an almost universal rule in refereeing: once a referee officiates an El Clásico, they will not officiate the very next one. It is very rare for the same referee to officiate El Clásico in consecutive seasons, and even if it happens, the committee will ensure a substantial gap with several Clásicos in between. This is not arbitrary; it is a preventive measure. Reusing the same referee just months after the last Barcelona vs. Real Madrid match would only invite discussion about that game, those decisions, and their impact. The committee deliberately avoids this kind of scrutiny.

In other words: appointing Hernández Hernández now would be creating a problem that could easily be avoided by simply choosing another referee.

He recently officiated a highly controversial Real Betis vs. Real Madrid match.

In addition to the factors above, there is another consideration. Hernández Hernández recently officiated a highly controversial match between Real Betis and Real Madrid. Regardless of whether his decisions in that match were correct—which is a separate discussion—the key point is that it was a closely scrutinized officiating performance involving Real Madrid, with significant surrounding controversy.

If you combine these two factors—being the referee for the last El Clásico and having just officiated a contentious match involving one of the two main participants—the conclusion is obvious. From a refereeing standards perspective, this would make no sense, and the committee knows this.

Misinformation with real consequences.

What is most concerning is not the headline itself, but its consequences. Circulating a name without basis sets an entire machine in motion: old clips are dug up, enemies are created prematurely, and a professional is subjected to public scrutiny for a match he will not officiate. People are blaming someone for something that has not happened and, by all indications, will not happen.

Currently, the reality is much simpler: the referee for El Clásico will be announced, as usual, in the week of the match. When the official appointment is made, there will be a name to discuss.

Until then, the only thing that can be rigorously stated is what the appointment process itself rules out: Hernández Hernández will not officiate El Clásico. It is impossible, whether from a scheduling, recent history, or refereeing logic perspective.

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