Olatz Rivera to become second woman to referee LaLiga matches | OneFootball

Olatz Rivera Olmedo will next season become the second woman to referee LaLiga matches after Marta Huerta de Aza. The federation's referees' committee confirmed her promotion to Segunda División on Monday. She will continue in Liga F.

Bilbao-born, 29, and based in Zaragoza, Rivera is a leading figure in Spanish women's refereeing. She handled this season's Copa de la Reina final and has officiated in the women's top flight since 2017, aged 21.

An international since 2022, she joined the Elite category in 2024, again following Marta Huerta as the second woman to do so.

Other changes include the demotion of international referees Guillermo Cuadra Fernández and Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz. Fran Soto has ended the committee's unwritten protection of badge holders, judging performance regardless of international status.

Rather than drop to Segunda, both join the VAR pool for both divisions. Pablo González Fuertes leaves that group after, alongside Ricardo de Burgos, fronting the press conference before the 2024 Copa final that led Real Madrid to threaten not to play.

Also departing Primera are Iosu Galech and José Luis Guzmán. The four vacancies are filled by Lluis Bestard, Joan Ander González, Carlos Muñiz and Manuel Jesús Orellana. Víctor García Verdura and Alejandro Quintero González will be proposed to FIFA for international status.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo