Spanish controversial referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz has planed to retire at the end of football season according to reports.
The 45 year old has received harsh criticism over the past month after causing a storm controversies in La Liga, Copa del Rey and the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and Netherlands when he set a new record for most yellow cards in a single match in the competition.
Both sides criticized Lahoz, with Lionel Messi of Argentina calling him “not up to the task” and Frenkie de Jong of the Netherlands and Barcelona calling his performance “scandalous.”
According to sports journalist Gaston Edul, the Spanish football authorities have decided to leave him out of the upcoming weekend’s matches.
Lahoz has since disclosed that he has decided to end his career.
On his return to domestic duty, the referee received more criticism. When he took charge of the game between Barcelona and Espanyol, he set another record for the most yellow cards issued in a La Liga game.
In this week’s Copa del Rey match against Linares, he dismissed Jorge Sampaoli, the coach of Sevilla, after just 17 minutes.
Reports say the referee will not be involved in this weekend’s La Liga matches and it is unclear if he will be given another game to officiate the following week.
Source: Goal