The city derby between Barcelona and Espanyol ended in 1-1 on Saturday afternoon, but little will be discussed about the result. It was referee Mateu Lahoz who drew attention to himself, more than three weeks after he already did that during the quarterfinals at the World Cup between the Netherlands and Argentina. The Spanish referee drew red twice, missed a clear third red print and also pulled a yellow card from his shirt pocket fourteen times. In addition, he gave Espanyol a penalty kick, which was apparently justified.
Especially the way in which Lahoz derailed the match was harrowing to see. Within ten minutes he drew eleven cards, two of which were red. Jordi Alba was booked twice for talking and Vinicius Souza van Espanyol was also killed a minute later. That Leandro Cabrera was allowed to stay standing was astonishing. He kicked lying Robert Lewandowski in the head, but after studying the footage, Lahoz decided to withdraw the red card he had already given.
This caused astonishment in the stadium and with commentator Sierd de Vos. The striking reporter often reported in the past that Lahoz is the best referee in Spain, but now came back to that. “We will not continue with this referee,” he said during his commentary. “I’ve also had it with Mateu Lahoz now. I think his refereeing career at the highest level is over after that quarter-final at the World Cup and this city derby.” The arbitrator was also disgraced on Twitter.
?? El show de Mateu Lahoz en el Camp Nou:
?? 74′ Jordi Alba
?? 74′ Vinicius Souza
?? 74′ Edu Exposito
?? 75′ Ferran Torres
?? 76′ Peter
???? 78′ Jordi Alba
?? 80′ Cabrera
???? 80′ Vinicius Souza
??? 85′ Cabrera pic.twitter.com/dIlMwht9Cs— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) December 31, 2022
Guess which Spanish referee just whistled this match? #idiot pic.twitter.com/CChekZCMQp
— Peter Pannekoek (@PannekoekPeter) December 31, 2022
Lahoz in top form again. #baresp pic.twitter.com/9QE5wduwAs
— Kees Kwakman (@keeskwakman14) December 31, 2022
Scandalous refereeing in this #barcaespanyol game…the absolute nadir of football-match management by Lahoz.
— Ray Hudson (@RayHudson) December 31, 2022
Is a disaster this man
— Jack van Gelder (@jackvangelder) December 31, 2022
Antonio Mateu Lahoz was still very timid at the Netherlands – Argentina. #baresp https://t.co/ERShuaHm1d pic.twitter.com/tYI3OZdl7z
— Joost Blaauwhof (@joost_blaauwhof) December 31, 2022
Things are getting out of hand again with Antonio Mateu Lahoz at the helm at Barcelona-Espanyol. Meanwhile 12 yellow cards and three red cards in the final phase. 1 for Barcelona and 2 for Espanyol. Score 1-1 after 82 minutes.
— Jeroen Kapteijns (@JeroenKapteijns) December 31, 2022
Mateu Lahoz lets the Barça-Espanyol derby get out of hand. Three red cards in a few minutes. From 10 against 11 to 10 against 9. Still 1-1.
— Jurriaan van Wessem (@JurrVanWessem) December 31, 2022