FIFA referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, has been sent home from Qatar by the world governing football body following the  several complaints were laid against him after the Netherlands vs Argentina Quarter Final match were he gave out 15 yellow cards.

 

 

Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi, led the criticism of Lahoz following the game. The 35-year-old said: ‘I think Fifa must take care of this, it cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task.’

 

Argentina’s keeper, Emi Martinez joined his skipper in criticizing the official’s display, tagging him “useless.” Martinez said:

 

‘The referee was just giving everything for them.

‘He gave 10 minutes [added time] for no reason. He was giving free-kicks outside the box for them, like two, three times. He just wanted them to score, that’s basically it. So, hopefully we don’t have that ref anymore. He’s useless.’

 

Despite their criticism of the referee, Argentina’s won the clash via a penalty shootout.

 

COPE now reports that Lahoz has been sent home and won’t take part in the remaining four games in any capacity. However, it’s not clear if his departure from the tournament is related to the Argentina vs Netherlands game.