Antonio Mateu Lahoz refereed his last match of his career against Greece on Sunday, but once again became the scapegoat afterwards. According to French and Spanish media, the 46-year-old referee made a mess of it.
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Mateu Lahoz let the Argentina - Netherlands match at the World Cup in Qatar spiral out of control, just like several matches in La Liga. That's why he has been under scrutiny for months. Also, against France, Mateu Lahoz, who has officiated over 300 matches in La Liga and 40 in the Champions League, is believed to have made significant errors, at least according to France and Spain.
Kylian Mbappé believes he should have been awarded penalties in the 2nd, 28th, and 41st minutes, but Lahoz did not give them. Furthermore, the referee handed out a total of four yellow cards and one red card to Greece, while Konstantinos Mavropanos in the 49th minute seemed to be inviting a red card himself by hitting Antoine Griezmann in the face.
"It wasn't just about one situation, but about three or four," said head coach Didier Deschamps after the match. "These are situations that should have been judged differently. I think the VAR didn't want to correct him because it was his last match."
"The Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz completely missed the last match of his career," according to L'Équipe. He used to be one of the best referees in the world, but those days are over. Mateu Lahoz may have officiated too many matches. The Spaniard was not always aided by the video assistant referee, and because the VAR only intervenes in crucial situations, he couldn't escape criticism."
According to Marca, 'Mateu Lahoz was decisive, in his own way...' And AS adds, 'Mateu says farewell with a show.' 'He didn't have an easy match. He awarded a penalty, added fourteen minutes of injury time, and had peculiar conversations with players. PSG forward Mbappé frequently complained to Mateu Lahoz, but after two occasions, the game was stopped, and the referee spoke with him. Mbappé was awarded a penalty in the second half but was denied by Vlachodimos. Mateu Lahoz ordered a retake due to a Greek player entering the box too early. The second attempt found the back of the net. Now, Mateu Lahoz's journey in international football has come to an end.'
Lahoz began his refereeing career in 2008 but could only be called an international referee starting from 2011. He has been active in three World Cups
