Luis Enrique Questions Referee Choice for Barcelona vs. Bilbao Copa Del Rey Tie

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has spoken out about the Spanish Football Federation's decision to appoint Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez as the referee for the upcoming Copa del Rey clash with Athletic Bilbao.

Gonzalez Gonzalez made headlines just weeks ago when he first gave Real Madrid two dodgy penalties against Real Sociedad before allowing Espanyol to get away with a number of rash tackles against Barcelona in a match days later.

The decision to put him in charge of another vital match for the Catalans so soon is puzzling, and Enrique isn't a fan of the appointment, per Sport's Javier Giraldo:       

"

What has surprised me is who has been chosen as the referee. I was shocked as I reckon any other person was. The reason being we have history and well… let’s see how I can phrase this so you understand: Due to our history with this referee, it’s not good for us nor for him. We just want to play and let people enjoy football, other things just shouldn’t be there.

"

Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde thought it wiser not to touch on the topic too much, per AS English:

Gonzalez Gonzalez's performances during the two matches mentioned were underwhelming to say the least. Real Sociedad were so disappointed with his showing they even threatened to file an official police report after two dubious penalty decisions in one half, per MailOnline's Pete Jenson.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Just days later, Gonzalez Gonzalez took charge of the derby match between Barcelona and Espanyol, a clash that produced more fouls and harsh tackles than goals. MailOnline's Rik Sharma noticed hosts Espanyol seemed to get away with just about everything, and pundits shared that opinion.

Author Sid Lowe was shocked by the low amount of bookings, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan couldn't help but point out what happened at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu:

As you can see in this video, courtesy of La Liga's official YouTube channel, he lost control of the match early:

While having incidents in two separate matches is hardly proof of bias, Enrique clearly felt strongly enough about the issue to point it out ahead of the tie with Bilbao. It's a move that could work―Gonzalez Gonzalez could be extra careful not to seem too harsh on Barcelona―or backfire tremendously.

Officials face enough criticism even when they do their job well as it is, and putting extra pressure on them or creating controversy before the first ball is even kicked can turn a referee against your team.

Valverde probably made a wise decision not to engage in a discussion too much, and everyone involved must hope Gonzalez Gonzalez puts in an exemplary performance when the two sides meet on Wednesday.

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