The attentions of all associated with La Liga giants Real Madrid have been piqued on Saturday afternoon.
This comes amid confirmation that referee Jesús Gil Manzano is primed for an imminent return to the pitch.
Official Gil Manzano of course found his name front and centre in the headlines across not only Spain, but all of Europe earlier this month.
This came after he was responsible for one of the most controversial decisions of the La Liga season to date.
As much came upon the Spaniard blowing the full-time whistle, to bring a close to proceedings between Valencia and Real Madrid, a split second before Jude Bellingham nodded home what looked set to be a crucial winner for the title-chasing latter.
The decision sparked pandemonium at the Mestalla, with Blancos standout Bellingham having been shown a red card owing to his protests.
The widespread takeaway from the incident was that Gil Manzano, though technically within his rights to call time on the clash, had made a serious error in doing so at such an inopportune moment.
The 40-year-old, in turn, was not given responsibility of overseeing a fixture in either of the last two La Liga gameweeks.
As alluded to above, though, on Saturday, he is all set for a return to the pitch, albeit on the international stage.
And those of a Real Madrid persuasion will no doubt be interested to hear that Gil Manzano’s comeback will feature several high-profile members of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.
The official will take charge of the friendly meeting between France and Germany later tonight.
And expected to feature in at least some capacity in the matchup are Blancos quartet Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger, as well as incoming signing Kylian Mbappé.
Conor Laird | GSFN
