Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz has come under immense scrutiny for his performance in Friday's quarter-final clash between Argentina and the Netherlands. The 45-year-old has been slammed for several players and fans alike for the calls he made in the night's affair which ended with a record number of bookings.
Despite his experience in the craft, Lahoz is notorious for his controversial decisions and has quite a reputation in La Liga. Ahead of Friday's game, the confirmation of his referees appointment as the overseer turned a lot of heads as fans anticipated another night soiled with questionable calls.
In the end, Argentina managed a 4-3 penalty victory following a dramatic 2-2 draw with the Netherlands after 120 minutes of football action. However, the spotlight was mostly on Antonio Lahoz as he dished out a record 18 yellow cards in the last eight encounter. The Spanish referee was also blamed for getting a number of calls wrong in key moments during the game.
In the aftermath, Lionel Messi - who was shown a yellow card during the shoot-out for dissent - did not hold back in his assessment of Mateu Lahoz. Speaking to TyC Sports about the referee's performance, he said: "I don't want to talk too much about the referee because later they punish you. We were afraid before the game because we knew what it was."
Argentina's penalty shoot-out hero Emiliano Martinez also slammed Mateu Lahoz despite his side earning a semi-final qualification.
"That referee is crazy," he said. "He [Lahoz] is arrogant, you say something to him and he speaks badly to you."
Below are some reactions by fans regarding Lahoz's performance:
A referee should be invisible during a World Cup game. In fact, no one should even know his name. Because that's when you know he did fantastic.
— (@TheEuropeanLad) December 9, 2022
Everyone knows Mateu Lahoz because he always wants to create his own show. Absolute disgrace of a referee.
Lads… was just about to head to bed, but Mateu Lahoz has just barged into the room and handed me a yellow card…
— Neal (@NealGardner_) December 9, 2022
Lahoz is the kind of person to go to a funeral and be mad that he isn't the center of attention.
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) December 9, 2022
The whole problem with Mateu Lahoz is that he thinks the fans are there to see him, not Messi, not van Dijk, not their own country but a referee. He always has this desperate need to make the game all about him.
— Xav Salazar (@XavsFutbol) December 9, 2022
Match is getting chippy. Lahoz already carding people on the bench. The stage is being set for him to do something so ridiculous and hilarious.
— Zito (@_Zeets) December 9, 2022
Lahoz is an appalling referee. Paredes should have been shown two separate yellow cards, one for the challenge and a second for kicking the ball at the Dutch bench.
— Dave Phillips (@lovefutebol) December 9, 2022
Mateu Lahoz is atrocious... he ALWAYS wants to upstage the players, especially Messi.
— Juan Arango (@JuanG_Arango) December 9, 2022
