Wednesday's Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona had some controversy in it, mainly due to some close calls that were not worthy of a review on the Video Assistant Referee. After that 3-0 win for Los Blaugranas, fans will have one more reason to complain about the ref, since ref Hernández Hernández will not be in charge of conducting the game; that honor will fall on Undiano Mallenco's lap.
There were medical reasons for this change to take place. Hernández Hernández came down with an undisclosed injury, giving way for Undiano Mallenco to become the highest authority on the pitch.
Mallenco is set to retire by the end of the season, and this game will be a good way to bid farewell to the beautiful game. This will be the tenth Clásico in Mallenco's career, with five of those games going Barcelona's way and three more being won by Real Madrid.
Barcelona fans have fond memories of Undiano Mallenco doing his job at the Bernabeu when they face Los Blancos. This ref was also on the pitch during the team's 4-3 win against the Spanish capital team in the 2013-14 season. If that was not enough, Undiano Mallenco also called the shots during the legendary game that ended with a 6-2 score for Los Blaugranas, which earned Ronaldinho a standing ovation from the crowd at the Bernabeu.
Undiano Mallenco has been involved in only one game that featured Real Madrid this season, which ended in a 4-2 win for Los Blancos. On the other hand, Barcelona has not been able to win any of the two games in which they shared the pitch with Undiano Mallenco. The first one ended in a 2-1 loss against Leganés, while the other one concluded in a 2-2 draw against Valencia a couple of weeks ago.
