Antonio Mateu Lahoz will stop as a referee in professional football after this season, the Argentinian reports TyC Sports. The reason that the 45-year-old leader would stop is not given by the television channel. Lahoz got all eyes on him during the World Cup during the Netherlands – Argentina and last weekend made another fury at the city derby between Barcelona and Espanyol. The Spanish referee drew no less than 34 cards in those two duels.
Lahoz has caused quite a stir in recent weeks. The referee, who had drawn yellow no fewer than eighteen times at the World Cup during the quarterfinals between the Netherlands and Argentina (2-2, 3-4 after penalties), also threw many cards on New Year’s Eve. Lahoz again claimed a leading role in the duel between Barcelona and Espanyol (1-1). He shared sixteen yellow cards from his shirt pocket in the Spotify Camp Nou. Jordi Alba and Vinicius Souza were both allowed to enter with a red card after a second yellow.
Lahoz continued where he left off on Wednesday. The referee, who had thrown 34 yellow cards in his last two matches before, immediately handed out a red card after eighteen minutes during the Copa del Rey match between Linares and Sevilla (0-5) on Wednesday. That card was for Jorge Sampaoli, the trainer of Sevilla.
Sampaoli could not agree with Lahoz’s decisions from the start of the cup match. In the eighteenth minute, the Argentinian coach made a showy story to the referee, who initially showed a yellow card. Sampaoli continued to make comments and Lahoz did not hesitate to immediately pull out a straight red card. Incidentally, these were the only cards from Lahoz in the entire game.
The Spanish Football Association decided on Thursday not to assign the much-discussed referee a match in the sixteenth round of LaLiga. Lahoz will also not be involved in a match as VAR. The referee has whistled eight games in LaLiga so far this season.