Controversial referee Mateu Lahoz has decided to ‘retire’ at the end of the season after being removed from the next round of La Liga games.
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Lahoz has been under intense scrutiny following his recent refereeing performances at club and international levels.
He dished out a whopping 18 yellow cards during the fiery World Cup clash between Argentina and the Netherlands, prompting criticism from Lionel Messi.
“This match shouldn’t have ended as it did. I don’t want to talk about the referee because they sanction you, but people watched what happened,” said the 35-year-old.
“We were afraid before the match because we knew how he was and I think FIFA has to review this, you can’t put a referee like him for these matches.”
Mateu Lahoz speaks with Robert Lewandowski during Barcelona vs. Espanyol. Image: Alamy
Frenkie de Jong said he ‘lost his way’ in a scathing assessment. He added: “[Lionel] Messi takes the ball with his hand, just lets it go. He was really scandalous. He is a nice guy. Normally he is also a good referee. But what he showed in extra time was outrageous. I think he really lost his way. It’s not his fault, but it has a big influence on the game.”
As a result, he was sent home from Qatar. But he picked up from where he left off as he handed out a slew of yellow cards during Barcelona vs. Espanyol.
And while he didn’t give a single yellow card during Sevilla’s Copa del Rey victory over Linares, he did send off Jorge Sampaoli after just 15 minutes.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation have reacted to Lahoz’s controversial refereeing by removing him the next round of league games in Spain.
Now, according to @gastonedul, the Spanish official is set to call time on his refereeing career at the end of the season.
It appears the backlash has forced the 45-year-old to retire, having made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
