The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) sided against the match official on one of the Clasico’s two most contested incidents, ruling in its weekly review that Juan Martínez Munuera should have shown Joao Cancelo yellow for the Portuguese defender’s challenge on Yan Diomande.

The incident happened in the 57th minute at the Camp Nou on Sunday, with Barcelona already trailing. Cancelo caught Diomande with his studs, and Real Madrid’s players appealed for a red card that never came. Martínez Munuera let play run on without so much as a booking.

The CTA’s view: reckless, not brutal

In its “Tiempo de Revisión” programme, the committee classified the challenge as reckless but drew a clear line at the question of a sending-off.

“Cancelo partially struck Diomande’s leg, and there is no excessive force or brutality,” the panel said, concluding that a yellow card was warranted but not more.

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That is only partial comfort for Real Madrid, whose on-field complaints centred on the colour of the card rather than its existence. The committee framed Martínez Munuera’s omission as a clear error on the booking, while backing him on the severity.

Balde handball waved away, correctly

The CTA also reviewed a shout for handball against Alejandro Balde inside the Barcelona area.

Here the committee stood by the referee. “The ball accidentally strikes the defender’s arm,” the panel said, agreeing that Balde’s arm was in a natural position and that no penalty should have been given.

Neither verdict changes the scoreline. Real Madrid won 2-1 at the Camp Nou on Sunday, and the two Clasico decisions now sit on the committee’s weekly ledger as one error against the referee and one call upheld.

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