The World Cup also had the leading role of the controversial Spanish central referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, especially in the match between Argentina and the Netherlands where his refereeing began to be questioned due to the number of yellow cards he drew in a harsh match, but which Obviously, with 17 cards the game began to get out of hand. This figure made him the historic judge for the large number of yellow cards.
And it is that, upon returning to the Spanish league, Mateu Lahoz was appointed to referee the Catalonia derby, Barcelona vs Espanyol where the large number of yellow cards he distributed in said commitment was also evident. Xavi Hernández, who spoke with the central judge, stressed to him at various times that he lost control of the game.
In addition to incessantly handing out yellow cards, he also showed four red cards, and a disputed one to Sevilla’s strategist Jorge Sampaoli in the Copa del Rey match between Linares and Sevilla. It was barely 15 minutes when the Argentine technical director showed him his dissatisfaction with how he was handling the match and Mateu Lahoz showed him the yellow and sent off. At the end of the match, Mateu spoke on Canal Sur Radio where he made it clear that “I hope that the arbitration team is respected and normalized as one more member of the football family.”
Due to his performances as central judge, LaLiga took action on the matter, and if they notify him of anything, they decided not to direct him to any match on the Spanish date on the weekend, including a great game between Atlético de Madrid vs Barcelona. He will not be in the VAR or on the field of play either. However, it is still not a fact that Mateu Lahoz will not be part of the following dates in the Spanish tournament, but it can be a great warning from the arbitration commission so that the controversial referee reconsiders his performances and can improve in the next commitments .
