BarcelonaMateu Lahoz has landed again in the League after his adventure in Qatar and has done so with the corresponding dose of controversy. His performance at Barça-Espanyol was poor in the eyes of the referee’s informants and the leaders have decided to send him to the fridge during the next day. Despite the sporting sanction, the Valencian collegiate is still very much in force in the eyes of the president of the referees, Luis Medina Cantalejo, who publicly defended him and wants to give him room to recover from the World Cup disappointment.
And the fact is that the Technical Committee of Referees, like any football club, has already started planning for the next season. In June they will have to decide on the highs and lows and politics, as always, will play a key role. The reports that the collegiates receive after each game where their performance is assessed are wet paper and it will be the omnipresent Medina who gives the thumbs up or down. He will do so after listening to the opinion of his assistant, Rubinos Pérez, and those responsible for the category, Undiano Mallenco and Clos Gómez.
Internationality as life insurance
From the referee’s perspective, the First Division is divided into two: on the one hand there is the group of internationals and on the other, the rest. The 10 collegiates who wear the sash are guaranteed to stay, the best matches of the competition are shared and they aspire to climb the ladder in Europe. The remaining 10 referees fight to avoid the two relegation places, whistle the less grateful matches and aim to enter the group of internationals.
The arbitral tribunal has always been a body with a marked presidentialist character and the arrival of Medina to the throne has turned the position of some collegiates like a sock. The Andalusians in the lower part breathe easy, since they are armored in the face of possible relegations and those from Madrid have lost the protectionism that former president Velasco Carballo gave them.
Retirement is no longer a matter of age
The board of directors has two hot potatoes to solve this year: what to do with Carlos Del Cerro Grande and Antonio Mateu Lahoz? Veteran referees should be past their prime, but they benefited from regulations that came into effect on July 1, 2021, allowing them to continue blowing the whistle after turning 45 if the president of the Referees’ Technical Committee considered appropriate.
This exception to the rule was propelled by Velasco Carballo, then the head of the referees and currently responsible for UEFA’s VAR, to favor fellow Madrid player Carlos Del Cerro Grande. The goal was for the Alcalà d’Henares player to have the chance to finish his prolific career in Qatar. But the script fell through the cracks. Mateu starred in the overtaking and he took the gift that Velasco Carballo had wrapped for him in Del Cerro.
Toño’s presence at the World Cup event has not only consolidated his prestige, but will also give him extra life ahead of next season’s chair dance. The hard core of Medina Cantalejo has to choose who continues to be part of the squad, and if there are no unexpected turns, Mateu will still be in the game. Del Cerro, on the other hand, will say goodbye when the course ends.
Why does Matthew continue?
Right now, there are 4 internationals who hold the elite category, the highest distinction in Europe. They are Mateu, Del Cerro, Gil Manzano and Sánchez Martínez. The Committee considers that losing half of its headliners would be dangerous for the health of Spanish refereeing and they want to make a less traumatic transition while waiting for UEFA to award stripes to De Burgos Bengoetxea or Hernández Hernández, who currently belong in the category that is below the elite.
Del Cerro will leave an international spot free and the best positioned to inherit the hat is the precocious Alberola Rojas, who is celebrating his 6th season in the First Division despite his 31 years. Thus, there will be only one relegation place to cover and all eyes are on Valentín Pizarro Gómez. If that were the case, the Madrid Committee would lose two referees at once. An unusual fact that the Catalan Committee also suffered in the 2021/22 season, when Estrada Fernández retired and Medié Jiménez lost the category, leaving the Catalan representation in the First Division an orphan.
The dominoes are in place to make them fall, but Medina’s planning is dependent on the outcome of a season that promises strong emotions, also in the refereeing field.
Journalist and referee
