The races of the referees They pass and end, in most cases, without receiving a word in their favor. The fields are always turned against him, but sometimes they happen beautiful exceptions like the one lived in Sadar after finishing Osasuna 3 – 1 Almería refereed by Mateu Lahoz. One of the most important and high-profile referees in Spanish football received a tribute at the end of the match.
Possible destination in the VAR
The ‘rojillos’ players formed a corridor for Mateu Lahoz, who will stop delivering justice on the field after 15 seasons. It will be his final as a referee in the First Division at 46, an age at which he continued directing thanks to an exemption from his own group. But the international referee will not abandon the entire trade, but will continue as a member of the VAR, according to Marca. The intention is for Carlos del Cerro Grande, 47, to follow the same path.
Although the decision is not yet official, images like the one at Sadar show that Mateu Lahoz’s last games will be a farewell tour of the Spanish fields. From the CTA a generational change is being carried out that will affect one of the most recognized ‘braids’ that Spanish arbitration has brought to the Olympic Games of Brazil 2016, Eurocopa 2020 or the World Cups in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
The controversy of the World Cup
In the last World Cup event, Lahoz led the Netherlands – Argentina quarterfinal that ended with 18 cards. This caused quite a stir that ended with Mateu’s performance in Qatar, where he was one of the candidates to direct the final along with his usual tandem: Pau Cebrián and Roberto Díaz. Another controversial episode this season lived in Cádiz-Betis, when he expelled Canales in just 15 seconds with two consecutive yellow cards for “protesting their decisions”.
Arbitrate in Saudi Arabia
As he revealed in El Larguero de la Cadena Ser, the Verdiblanco midfielder told the Valencian: “If I can’t talk, then don’t ask me about personal issues anymore.” If something has characterized Mateu during his 15 seasons, it is his long conversations with the players, even with issues that have nothing to do with the game. According to his environment, the referee does not like the destination too much in the VAR and he could even listen to an offer from another league, where he has already refereed many times.
For example, in March, Mateu Lahoz whistled the Saudi Arabian soccer league classic. The duel thatThey faced Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and Al Ittihad. In Arab territory, the Spanish referee already directed the final of the King’s Cup in the 2021/2022 season, in addition to two games in 2018 and 2019. The referee who will leave the fields of LaLiga has also directed in Greece and Azerbaijan.