Controversial referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz has reportedly been sent home over some disturbing decisions he made in a World Cup game he recently officiated.
According to COPE, the referee’s final game was the feisty quarter-final clash between Argentina and Netherlands, where he issued out an incredible 15 yellow cards.
Lahoz’s performance was not well received by either team, with Argentina’s players, including Lionel Messi and others, criticising his officiating after the game.
The 35-year-old said: ‘I think Fifa must take care of this, it cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task.’
Argentina’s keeper, Emi Martinez joined his skipper in criticising the official’s display, tagging him “us£less.” Martinez said: ‘The referee was just giving everything for them.
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‘He gave 10 minutes [added time] for no reason. He was giving free-kicks outside the box for them, like two, three times. He just wanted them to score, that’s basically it. So, hopefully we don’t have that ref anymore. He’s us£less.’
Despite their criticism of the referee, Argentina’s won the clash via a penalty shootout.
COPE now reports that Mateu Lahoz will not be officiating any of the remaining games at the World Cup as he ‘heads home from Qatar’. However, it’s not clear if his departure from the tournament is related to the Argentina vs Netherlands game.
