The controversial referee officiating the Catalan derby, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, ‘parked’ by the Spanish Football Federation. Lahoz will not be serving in LaLiga this weekend.
Lahoz’s performance has been in the spotlight in the last few matches. Most recently, he issued 15 yellow cards and two red cards while leading the match Barcelona vs Espanyol at Camp Nou, last Saturday (31/12/2022).
After the match, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez criticized. Xavi considered that referee Mateu Lahoz had lost control of the match.
Lahoz also sparked controversy at the 2022 World Cup by issuing 17 yellow cards in the Argentina vs Netherlands match in the quarterfinals. Lionel Messi even criticized him.
Lahoz did not issue a yellow card in his last match between Sevilla and Linares in the Copa del Rey last night. However, he sent off Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli when the match had only been running for 17 minutes.
Quoted from Football Espana, Lahoz will not be in charge of LaLiga matches this weekend. The 45-year-old referee’s name is not on the official list for Week 16 matches, neither as the main referee nor VAR officer.
LaLiga this weekend will present a big match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. The match will be officiated by referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero.
(nds/adp)
