In the 10th round of La Liga, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1. The game was tense from the first minute and eventually turned into a melee. Therefore, the Referee Technical Committee (CTA) selected Soto Grado to officiate the match. He and VAR referee Iglesias Villanueva received high praise for their performance.

According to "AS", the Spanish Referee Technical Committee was "very satisfied" with the penalty in this national derby.

According to CTA, this is one of the most complex games so far this season. Despite this, the referee's performance received high praise. Both the referee Cesar Soto Grado and Javier Iglesias Villanueva in charge of VAR performed well in handling complex situations.

There were many situations to deal with during the game, such as numerous tense moments between the two teams (including a clash on the bench) and the decision to show Pedri a second yellow card. But three key moments stand out.

First of all, at the beginning of the game, a penalty kick awarded to Real Madrid was cancelled. The game was intense from the start, with Real Madrid eager to avenge last season's defeat. Despite the pressure, Iglesias Villanueva asked Soto Grado to review the replays and the penalty was eventually canceled. The referees believed that Yamal had taken the lead and controlled the ball, while Vinicius fouled the defender and kicked it. This was a complex call, but one that the referee committee felt was handled appropriately.

The second key penalty was that an offside goal by Mbappe was cancelled. VAR determined that although Mbappe was only slightly offside, he was still in an offside position. The third point of controversy is Eric Garcia's handball. Soto-Grado didn't say anything at first, but Iglesias Villanueva asked him to check the replays again and a penalty was awarded. It was a complicated handball for the referee's committee, but a penalty was awarded as Eric Garcia's arm movements suggested he was actively making contact with the ball.

Western media stated that the performances of Soto Grado and Iglesias Villanueva received passing reviews. Although the technical committee still needs to meet to analyze the game in detail, the initial impression is that the referee committee is very satisfied with their performance and believes that VAR's intervention is also very accurate, despite the new policy of reducing intervention.