Lahoz out of World Cup! Spanish ref coming home after Argentine moans
FIFA have communicated that Lahoz will not be needed for the remainder of the tournament
Argentina were hugely unhappy with the performance of the Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz in their quarterfinal win over the Netherlands.
Their complaints seem to have had an effect, too, because FIFA has now confirmed that the referee will not oversee any more matches at the World Cup in Qatar.
After finishing the match between the Netherlands and Argentina in the last eight, which was decided in a penalty shootout in the Albiceleste's favour, Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Dibu Martínez criticised the performance of Mateu.
"You can't have a referee who is not up to it," said Messi who scored one and made another in the 2-2 draw.
FIFA has also made it official that the Argentine referees Fernando Rapallini and Facundo Tello will not have any more matches in the remainder of the tournament following the controversy in the match between Portugal and Morocco.
Tello received a lot of criticism from the Portuguese side about his decisions in the match:
“It’s unacceptable for an Argentine referee to referee our game,” Portugal centre-back Pepe said. “After what happened yesterday, with Messi talking, all of Argentina was talking and the referee comes here to blow the whistle.
"I’m not saying that he comes here conditioned ... but what did we play the second half? We weren’t allowed to play the second half. I can bet that Argentina will be champions.”
FIFA, therefore, has taken action on the matter and has nipped any possible speculation in the bud. Lahoz, Rapallini and Tello will no longer referee at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
