December 12, (THEWILL) – After Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates publicly questioned referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz’s calls during their quarter-final victory over the Netherlands, the World Cup referee will not officiate any more games at the tournament in Qatar.
In that quarter-final game, the Argentines were ahead 2-0, before Louis van Gaal’s team fought back to force a penalty shootout, as tempers continued to rise. After the final whistle, Lahoz issued 17 yellow cards and dismissed Dutch defender, Denzel Dumfries. Two-goal hero, Wout Weghorst, had already been issued a booking even before he came on as a substitute in the second half.
Argentina’s second goal in the match was scored by Messi, who was evidently dissatisfied with the refereeing as his team fought unsuccessfully to maintain a two-goal advantage.
Speaking after, Messi said: “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.”
There is no word if there is a direct connection between the complaints of the Argentine team and especially Messi, to the referee’s exit from Qatar after the determination that he will not officiate any further matches with only four matches left and if there is any investigation ongoing on the referee’s officiating.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
