Following his controversial decisions in Argentina’s heated match against Netherlands for the Qatar World Cup quarter-finals, Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz has reportedly been released from the tournament while VAR officials will still have the option of participate in future competitions.
The match, dubbed the ‘Battle of Lusail’, ended 2-2 in extra time and was finally decided in a penalty shootout which Argentina eventually claimed the victory (4-3). During the match, the La Liga referee issued a record 18 yellow cards and one red.
At one point in the match, midfielder Leandro Paredes kicked the ball over the Netherlands bench with Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk responding by knocking it to the ground resulting in multiple bookings as the match seemed to spiral out of control. At the end of the competition, two of the Argentine coaches received cards and three players were cautioned in the penalty shootout.
In a post-match interview, Argentina captain Lionel Messi expressed his frustration and asked FIFA to look into the matter.
“I don’t want to talk about the referees because they will punish you. But people saw what happened. I think FIFA has to deal with it. They can’t put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, such importance. the referee cannot fail to be up to the task,” he said.
FIFA also announced that Argentine referees Fernando Rapallani and Facundo Tello will be out of matches for the rest of the tournament due to a conflict of interest as Argentina progress to the semi-finals.
Elsewhere in sport, adidas unveil the ‘Al Hilm’ match ball from the Qatar World Cup final.
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