Ramón Melcón Bartolomé

Ramón Melcón Bartolomé (30 November 1900 – 2 July 1973) was a Spanish journalist, football referee and manager who co-directed two matches of the Spain national team in 1955.

As a referee, he officiated a total of 153 La Liga matches between 1928 and 1948, and four international matches between 1930 and 1936.

Refereeing career Born on 30 November 1900 in Madrid, Melcón began his footballing career as a player in his hometown club at Recreativo Español, but it did not bear fruit, and he soon left it to dedicate himself to refereeing, an occupation that made him famous in Spanish football. Notably, in the first leg of the 1930 Copa del Rey round of 16 between Real Betis and FC Barcelona on 20 April 1930, Melcón had a "scandalous refereeing" due to his partiality in favor of Barcelona, disallowing Betis' second goal and not giving a penalty after Barça's defender Enrique Mas cleared the ball with both hands before allowing Barça's equalizer from Ángel Arocha, who had received the pass from an offside position. When Melcón whistled the end of the first half, he had to face the stands, taking refuge in the FC Barcelona booth, which caused the premature end of the match at half-time with the score at 1–1 draw. The VII Youth Tournament was played according to the system used in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil and was developed with the motto of "world championship", not only because the Hungarians had worn such a halo since they arrived, but also because FIFA, distant in Zurich, remained silent about it.

At the Mediterranean Cup, Melcón led Spain B in two matches, a 2–0 victory over France B on 30 May 1954 and a 7–1 trashing of Greece on 13 March 1955, and although he was then replaced by Guillermo Eizaguirre, Spain B went on to win the title. Until the 1960s, it was very common to give the reins of the national team not to renowned technicians, but to federations and even prominent journalists, such as Melcón and Pedro Escartín, the last two, after being referees.

Melcón was also a professor at the National Coaching School since its foundation, and as a teacher, he also worked at the Castellana School of Referees.

Journalist career Founder and president of the Spanish Association of Sports Journalists and vice president of the International Sports Press Association, Melcón worked as a journalist for decades, including in the newspapers El Imparcial, , Campeón, El Debate, La Libertad, Marca, and El Alcázar.

Melcón was also a correspondent for Norte Desportivo and in Portugal, L'Équipe in France, and in Uruguay. He also wrote some works of a historical nature.

Death Melcón died on 2 July 1973, at the age of 72.

Honours Spain youth team FIFA International Youth Tournament: 1954

Spain B Mediterranean Cup: 1953–58