José Luis Munuera Montero was born in Jaén and has a degree in Hispanic Philology. His career with the whistle is meteoric: he debuted in Segunda B at 27, was promoted to the second division at 30 and reached the elite at 33. Three seasons in the First Division were enough for him to make the international leap. His peak was in the 2022-23 season, when he was named the best Spanish referee according to the CTA. At 41 years old, he has four seasons left until the regulations force him to leave the playing field.
Soccer
The Federation investigates and removes the referee who sent off Bellingham
Munuera Montero could have violated the regulatory code by setting up a company in 2024
19/02/2025
2 min
BarcelonaJose Luis Montero Montero, The referee who sent off Jude Bellingham, is being investigated by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and will be removed from the Referees Committee until the case is resolved. The referee could have violated the RFEF's regulatory code, which prohibits members of the organization from having secondary interests that could interfere with the fulfillment of their professional obligations. A regulation that was created as a result of Gerard Piqué's participation in the negotiations between the Spanish Federation and Saudi Arabia to bring the Spanish Super Cup to the Asian country. The referees have a professional contract that requires them to be exclusively dedicated, but that does not prevent them from having investments or being part of a company.
The company of the inspected referee that is in the spotlight is called Talentus Sport Speakers. It was founded in 2024 with the aim of organizing training talks to spread the values of sport. The point of conflict is not the informative task but the job offers that it advertises on its counter and that are related to clubs, organizations and sports federations. The decision of the Technical Committee of Referees will temporarily prevent Munuera Montero from officiating matches in the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey. In turn, it will also affect international matches, since UEFA does not have the power to call referees if they are not eligible in their federation.
The referee maintains his innocence and announces legal measures
In an official statement, José Luis Munuera has denounced "an excessive attack on the refereeing community" and affirms that the company Talentus Sport Speakers "has not billed any entity, club or sports federation." In addition, he has announced "civil and criminal actions against the media that have spread false or biased information."
The referee explained in an interview on the Cope channel that the problem has arisen because his company "offers a free service to LinkedIn that consists of creating a database with job offers for young people who have completed a postgraduate degree related to sport." In addition, he took advantage of the interview to denounce the delicate situation that his family is suffering, which was "vilified" by the latest published information.
Munuera Montero and Real Madrid: "Everything OK, José Luis"
Munuera Montero's statistics with Real Madrid have always been satisfactory for Florentino's team: 15 wins for the white club, 2 draws and 2 defeats. This season the Andalusian referee had visited the Bernabéu on two occasions, when Madrid had faced Espanyol in La Liga (4-1) and Celta in the Copa del Rey (5-2). In the match against the Galician team there was a lot of controversy following a penalty by Lunin that was not awarded and which ended with a goal by Kilian Mbappé in the other area.
His name had some media relevance when some VAR audios were published where his colleague approved one of his decisions with a "Everything is OK, Jose Luis", which Real Madrid TV used to create its videos to train referees.
A meteoric career
