Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz as well as Argentina referee Facudo Tello has been barred from officiating any other FIFA World Cup match following their 'controversial' officiating in the quarterfinal clash between Argentina and Netherlands and Portugal Vs Morocco respectively.Lahoz is accussed of dishing out an eye-watering 17 yellow cards and a red card in what was a bad-tempered clash, something that did not go well with Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
"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," Messi said after the match.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez also fired shots at Lahoz claiming that he wanted Argentina to be eliminated just like Spain.
"The ref gave everything to them [Netherlands]. It all turned upside down. He gave 10 minutes extra time for no reason. He just wanted them to score. That referee is crazy. Arrogant. You say something to him and he talks back to you. It's crazy.
Because Spain was eliminated, he wanted to eliminate us. He is the worst referee at the World Cup. Hopefully, we won’t have him again - he’s useless," Martinez said.
Lahoz is not the only referee who has been sent home by FIFA.
Argentina referee Facudo Tello has also been sent home after Portugal players complained of his performance in their quarterfinal clash against Morocco.
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes accused the referee of being biased as the odds of winning the tournament were in favor of Argentina."After what happened yesterday, with Messi speaking. All of Argentina speaking and an Argentine referee comes to whistle. After what I saw today, they can give the title to Argentina now," Fernandes said.
