The referee was questioned harshly by Lionel Messi after the duel between Argentina and the Netherlands during the World Cup in Qatar. Moreover, yesterday he surprised by showing the red to DT Casildense in the Copa del Rey.
Judge Antonio Mateu Lahoz made a drastic decision. The Spaniard has decided to quit professional refereeing after adding a few appearances which have been criticized, especially due to the large number of cards he has shown to players during his last presentations. .
The sequence of actions began in the last World Cup in Qatar 2022. In the competition, Mateu Lahoz was responsible for directing the actions of the quarter-final duel between Argentina and the Netherlands.
On that occasion, he became the judge with the most yellow cards shown in a single match, showing 17 yellow cards and one red. Added to this are 48 offenses collected: 30 for the Trans-Andean and 18 for the European ones.
In fact, one of the critical voices on this occasion was Lionel Messi, who already knew the judge during the years he wore the Barcelona shirt in Spain.
After the duel between Albiceleste and Clockwork Orange, La Pulga said they felt “a lot of anger, because it was not for it to end like this”.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee because later they punish you. You can’t be honest, you can’t say what you think. They sanction you immediately for matches, but people have seen what it is,” he added afterwards.
“YouWe were scared before the game because we knew what it was. FIFA should review this because they cannot have a referee like that for this instance, for a match of such importance, and who is not up to the task. “, he stated.
He also wasn’t shy about pointing out that the judge’s decisions ended up affecting Argentina. “The ref tilted the pitch, he wanted them to tie it. Not just for (extra) minutes, but for the whole game , other games. Then the last foul from which the goal came was not a foul. Lots of details that inside the pitch you realize he wants to tip it over and I’ll tell you again: Van Gaal sells that he plays good football and today he kicks balls.
Following this, FIFA took the decision to separate the judge from subsequent matches. Although the referee was well evaluated, the body decided to send him home.
New conflicts in Spain
Upon his return to local competition, he was in charge of controlling derby action between Barcelona and Espanyol. There, the scene repeated itself again, as Mateu Lahoz showed 12 yellow cards (including Xavi Hernández on the Barça bench) and two more red cards for double warnings. .
And this Wednesday, as part of the Copa del Rey, Sevilla went to Linares. There, the referee sent coach Jorge Sampaoli back to the locker room after sending him off after 17 minutes for complaints .
As a result, the Spanish league had decided to leave him out of the next League date, removing him from fieldwork and VAR.
Track to El Deportivo
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
