30 November 2025
The 14th round match of the Spanish La Liga between Getafe and their guest Elche witnessed an exceptional and rare incident when referee Alejandro Hernandez showed a red card to his former colleague. In the dying moments of the match, which was held at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez stadium, Hernandez brandished the red card at the Getafe bench.
Although the initial impression was that the decision was directed at Getafe coach José Bordalás, who had protested some of the referee's decisions during the match, the match report revealed that the dismissal was for someone else.
According to the Spanish newspaper AS, the person who received the red card was Enrique Mejuto González, a former international referee and one of the most prominent figures in Spanish refereeing, who currently serves as the match delegate for Getafe. The official match report, which documented the incident, stated: "In the 90th minute, delegate Mejuto González was sent off for the following reason: as the person responsible for the ball boys on the field, he took responsibility for their conduct during the second half, which caused repeated delays in restarting the game."
Mejuto González, 66, is one of the most prominent figures in Spanish refereeing.
He began his La Liga career in 1995 and officiated 263 matches at the highest level before retiring in 2010 after refereeing the Copa del Rey final between Sevilla and Atlético Madrid.
He has also been a FIFA-certified international referee since 1999 and officiated crucial matches in the European Championship twice.
The highlight of his refereeing career remains his officiating of the historic 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, when he refereed the Liverpool-Milan match, which saw the Reds' astonishing comeback from a 3-0 deficit to win on penalties.
After retiring, Mejuto González moved to the position of Getafe's match commissioner in July 2019, thanks to his close relationship with club president Ángel Torres. Now, he finds himself in a rather amusing situation: a former referee being sent off by his current colleague!
