One of the main concerns for fans of Universitario de Deportes and Alianza Lima prior to a clash between them is to know who will be in charge of refereeing that match. Normally, experienced referees such as Víctor Hugo Carrillo, Diego Haro or Michael Espinoza are considered as the main options, as they have years of experience in this field and know how to handle high-pressure situations.
However, this time, none of the mentioned names will be responsible for directing the most watched and anticipated match in Peruvian football, but rather the young Augusto Menéndez. Henry Gambetta, member of the Technical Arbitration Unit, revealed this decision on 'Fútbol Como Cancha' from RPP Noticias and assured that Menéndez is sufficiently qualified to be the main referee in that match.
"We have decided who will be the referee of the classic, it is a pleasant appearance and we are very excited about his nomination. We hope he is up to the circumstances and we are talking about Augusto Menéndez, who is a very young referee. We believe that this is the ideal match for him because it opens the year and does not define important things. We also believe that he is capable of resolving this match, he will be accompanied by Jhonny Bossio and Coty Carrera," said Gambetta.
This will be the third match that Menéndez referees this year, after doing so in Alianza Lima's 1-0 victory over Sport Boys and Deportivo Municipal's 3-1 home defeat against Melgar from Arequipa. In total, he showed ten yellow cards and one red card, which was given to Aldair Fuentes in the victory of Alianza Lima.
