The number at the center of the row is 862. That is how many minutes Barcelona have played with numerical superiority in La Liga since the 2016-17 season, or the equivalent of 9.57 full matches with an extra man against opponents who have been reduced. Over the same stretch, Real Madrid sit at minus 91 minutes, and Atlético Madrid at minus 330, roughly 3.66 full games spent at a disadvantage.
The red-card balance follows the same curve. Barcelona’s opponents have been sent off 59 times to Barcelona’s 30, a +29 differential. Real Madrid are almost level at 39 against 38. Atlético are the opposite extreme: 45 own-player dismissals against just 30 for opponents, a net of minus 15.
Penalties flip the picture. Over the past decade Real Madrid have been awarded 101 and conceded 45, for a +56 net balance that leads the three. Barcelona sit at 76 for and 33 against, a +43 return. Atlético trail on 57-50, a net of +7.
Where VAR has cut Madrid harder
The VAR era, from 2018-19 onwards, tells a different story. Real Madrid have had 42 goals ruled out by video review in La Liga, more than any other club in the competition. Barcelona rank seventh with 19, per Goal’s VAR audit. Atlético and Villarreal share second place with 22 each.
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A DAZN breakdown of VAR calls in the 2025-26 season landed on a tighter picture: Real Madrid faced 21 interventions, 9 favorable and 12 against them, while Barcelona’s 20 split 10-to-9 in their favor, the Spanish outlet reported.
Sevilla reignite the row
The numbers land in the middle of a week dominated by officiating complaints. On Sunday, 18 October, Sevilla lost 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, and head coach Luis García Plaza was asked after the match why VAR had not reviewed an Arda Güler elbow on Sevilla’s Peque in the first half.
“Maybe they don’t call VAR because, if we won, they would be nine points behind us going into El Clásico,” García Plaza told reporters in his post-match press conference.
Real Madrid used the same evening to call again for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign, after he recently compared the club’s attacks on referees with Nazi propaganda tactics. Banners reading “This is not football, this is Tebas and Negreira” were held up inside the Bernabéu, with chants of “Tebas, dimisión,” the Associated Press reported.
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Camp Nou on Sunday
Barcelona lead La Liga on 27 points with a perfect record after nine matches. Atlético are second on 22 and Real Madrid third on 21, per La Liga’s 2026-27 table.
El Clásico kicks off at Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday, 25 October, at 9pm local time.
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