Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been sent home from the 2022 World Cup and will not oversee any more games, following criticism from Argentina captain, Lionel Messi.
Lahoz was put in charge for Argentina’s quarter-final showdown with the Netherlands last week.
Despite Argentina running out victorious on penalties, there were huge complaints sent the way of the official.
In what was a bad-tempered clash, Lahoz issued an eye-watering 17 yellow cards with Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries also receiving his marching orders despite the game having already finished. Meanwhile, two-goal hero Wout Weghorst was also issued with a booking even before he took to the pitch.
Messi, the scorer of Argentina’s second goal in the game, aired his complaints about the official’s performance. He told TyC Sports “This match shouldn’t have ended as it did.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee because they sanction you. But people saw what happened. 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.”
Meanwhile, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez ruthlessly criticised Lahoz for his performance. He said: “The ref gave everything to them [Netherlands]. It all turned upside down.
“He gave 10 minutes extra time for no reason. He just wanted them to score. That referee is crazy. Arrogant. You say something to him and he talks back to you. It’s crazy.
“Because Spain were eliminated, he wanted to eliminate us. He is the worst referee at the World Cup. Hopefully we won’t have him again – he’s useless.”
Now, it has emerged that Lahoz’s display has spelt the end of his World Cup campaign .The 45-year-old will not oversee any more matches at the tournament and is expected to return home to Spain.