Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been reportedly sent home. The referee last officiated the Argentina vs Netherlands match which saw a total of 19 bookings.
According to reports, Lahoz was sent home after a disappointing performance in the quarter-final match between Argentina and Netherlands at Lusail Stadium on Saturday. Lahoz issued about 19 yellow cards, including two at Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni and support staff Walter Samuel. A red card was shown to Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfires after the game ended.
Messi slammed the referee and called him not upto the mark. In a post-match interview, Messi said, “I don’t want to talk about referees because then they will sanction you. But, we were scared before the game because we knew what was coming (with Mateu Lahoz). They cannot put a referee like that on this game when he is not up to the level.”