Referee Profile

César Soto Grado

Spain
La Liga Referee FIFA-listed since 2022 Event coverage · 93%
Birth DateJun 17, 1980
BirthplaceCandeleda (Ávila)
FederationRFEF
FIFA Listed Since2022
Top-flight DebutAug 18, 2019
Biography

About César Soto Grado

César Soto Grado is a Spanish football referee born in Candeleda (Ávila), Spain on 17 June 1980. He made his La Liga debut on 18 August 2019 and has been FIFA-listed since 2022. 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, Soto Grado has officiated 14 league matches, averaging 22.86 fouls, 0.36 penalties, 4.29 yellow cards and 0.29 red cards per game. Those numbers point to a balanced but firm profile, with a comparatively lighter whistle in open play. For The VAR Verdict, that statistical snapshot helps readers understand the disciplinary threshold and general tone he has shown this season.

Referee Style Balanced but firm
Officiating record

Matches

Auto-updated
Match history

Recent Matches

Historical coverage is selective. We only show seasons and competitions where our sources provide enough verified referee data, so some older seasons may not be available.

Trusted archive

Full Match History

40 matches
La Liga 2026/27 · September 20, 2026
Deportivo La Coruña 1–1 Real Betis Balompié
2 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
Primera Division 2026/27 · September 20, 2026
RC Deportivo La Coruña 1–1 Real Betis Balompié
0 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2026/27 · September 7, 2026
Getafe CF 1–1 Celta de Vigo
5 1 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
Primera Division 2026/27 · September 7, 2026
Getafe CF 1–1 RC Celta de Vigo
0 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
Primera Division 2026/27 · August 22, 2026
Athletic Club 1–3 Sevilla FC
0 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · May 10, 2026
Oviedo 0–0 Getafe CF
4 2 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · April 21, 2026
Mallorca 1–1 Valencia CF
2 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · April 5, 2026
Deportivo Alavés 2–2 CA Osasuna
6 1 PEN 2 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · March 16, 2026
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid 1–1 Levante UD
8 1 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · February 28, 2026
Oviedo 0–1 Club Atlético de Madrid
4 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · February 16, 2026
Girona 2–1 FC Barcelona
2 1 PEN 1 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · February 2, 2026
Mallorca 4–1 Sevilla FC
2 0 PEN 1 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · January 24, 2026
Villarreal CF 0–2 Real Madrid CF
4 0 PEN 1 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · January 11, 2026
Levante UD 1–1 RCD Espanyol de Barcelona
2 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · December 20, 2025
CA Osasuna 3–0 Deportivo Alavés
4 0 PEN 1 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · December 13, 2025
Club Atlético de Madrid 2–1 Valencia CF
5 0 PEN 0 VAR 2 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · November 30, 2025
Real Sociedad de Fútbol 2–3 Villarreal CF
10 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · November 9, 2025
Athletic Club 1–0 Oviedo
2 0 PEN 0 VAR 1 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · September 23, 2025
Sevilla FC 1–2 Villarreal CF
5 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
La Liga 2025/26 · September 14, 2025
CA Osasuna 2–0 Rayo Vallecano de Madrid
5 0 PEN 0 VAR 0 Details
Career

Competition & Season History

Historical coverage is selective. Only seasons with sufficient verified referee data are shown; some competitions and older seasons are intentionally unavailable when coverage is incomplete.

La Liga

Spain
35trusted matches

2026/27

100% event coverage
Current season
Matches2
Yellow7
Red1
Penalties0
VAR Events0
VAR Apps—

2025/26

100% event coverage · 86.6% league referee coverage
Good coverage
Matches16
Yellow68
Red5
Penalties6
VAR Events3
VAR Apps—

2024/25

100% event coverage · 90.5% league referee coverage
Excellent coverage
Matches17
Yellow71
Red4
Penalties3
VAR Events4
VAR Apps—

Primera Division

Spain
3trusted matches

2026/27

0% event coverage
Coverage not rated
Matches3
Yellow0
Red0
Penalties0
VAR Events0
VAR Apps—

UEFA Champions League

Europe
1trusted matches

2025/26

100% event coverage · 73.2% league referee coverage
Partial coverage
Matches1
Yellow6
Red0
Penalties0
VAR Events0
VAR Apps—

UEFA Europa League

World
1trusted matches

2024/25

100% event coverage · 73.1% league referee coverage
Partial coverage
Matches1
Yellow5
Red0
Penalties0
VAR Events0
VAR Apps—

Tracked Statistics Snapshot

Matches40
Yellow Cards157
Red Cards10
Penalties9
Yellow / Covered Match4.24
Red / Covered Match0.27
Penalty / Covered Match0.24
VAR & Discipline

VAR Record

Explicit VAR Events7Provider-coded incidents
VAR Appointments—Structured role coverage unavailable
Goal Cancelled6Explicit provider event
VAR Penalty1Explicit provider event

VAR event counts describe provider-coded incidents. They do not represent The VAR Verdict's editorial judgment on whether a decision was correct or incorrect.

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