Francisco José Hernández Maeso is a Spanish football referee born in Brussels, Belgium on 31 August 1988. He made his La Liga debut on 12 August 2023. He is part of the current top-flight refereeing pool in Spain and is regularly relevant for pre-match analysis, appointment previews and VAR-focused discussion.
In the 2025/26 La Liga season, Hernández Maeso has officiated 14 league matches, averaging 23.50 fouls, 0.64 penalties, 2.86 yellow cards and 0.21 red cards per game. Those numbers point to a balanced but firm profile, with a noticeable tendency to point to the spot, and a relatively restrained yellow-card average. For The VAR Verdict, that statistical snapshot helps readers understand the disciplinary threshold and general tone he has shown this season.