Olatz Rivera Olmedo (29) has been selected by the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation to officiate the final of the Copa de la Reina Iberdrola, where Barcelona will face Atlético de Madrid this Saturday at 21:00 CET.
An international referee since 2017, Olatz is part of UEFA’s Elite group and made her debut in the women’s top division in 2017. Since last season, she has also been officiating matches in the men’s Primera Federación. Having already been in charge of two Spanish Super Cup finals, this will be her first time refereeing a Copa de la Reina final.
The Basque official, who has already built considerable experience despite being under 30, will be joined on the sidelines by Iragartze Fernández and Haizea Castresana. Notably, the highly regarded Marta Huerta de Aza will serve as the fourth official, while Raquel Díaz will be the reserve assistant referee.
The RFEF used a hidden camera to capture her reaction—marked by tears of joy—when Fran Soto, president of the CTA, informed her that she would be the one to officiate the decisive match. “Enjoy the day and the experience, it’s always very positive. We have great trust in you, as you know. It’s a beautiful moment. Congratulations,” he told her.
Barcelona, the newly crowned Liga F and Spanish Super Cup champions, are just four games away from finishing the season and two wins from completing a clean sweep. However, the results they need to close out the campaign in the best possible way must come against their rivals in this final and against Lyon in the Champions League.
This past weekend, the Madrid side lost the derby to Real Madrid 1-0, while Barcelona had to dig deep to come from behind and win 3-1 in Tenerife. Victoria Quiles’ first-half red card paved the way for Barcelona’s victory thousands of kilometers away from the Catalan capital.