Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz Record And History vs Lionel Messi

Spanish Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz was on a yellow-card spree, during the intense Argentina vs Netherlands quarterfinal clash, find out how many red cards and yellow cards he showed during the match and his rift with Messi

Lahoz has served as a referee in the Spanish La Liga since joining back in 2008.

How Many Yellow And Red Cards Did Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz Show In The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Quarter Final Netherlands vs Argentina Clash

Can we talk about match referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz? He reminded me of Opera! YOU GET A YELLOW CARD & YOU GET A YELLOW CARD!

Total yellow cards in the game reached 18, going past the number of yellow cards – 16 – handed out during Portugal vs Netherlands in the 2006 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/nTAbMZU7QE

— Ahsan Ahmed (@ahsanahmed94) December 9, 2022

So FIFA decided to give Mateu Lahoz the chance to officiating Argentina vs Netherlands match. The Messi fanboy will book every Holland player if they dare to breath anywhere near Messi. FIFA knows exactly what they’re doin & you still think this tournament isn’t rigged for midget pic.twitter.com/6GmIZZTwA7

— Afghan Madridista (@MadridistaAFG) December 8, 2022

Messi didn't hold back in his assessment of Mateu Lahoz 😳 pic.twitter.com/gvDHXQpCIv

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) December 9, 2022

Besides serving in the La Liga, Lahoz also serves as an international referee having previously in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Antonio Mateu Lahoz Record And History vs Lionel Messi

How Many Players Did Lahoz Book In The Argentina vs Netherlands Match

During the first half of the Argentina vs Netherlands clash, Lahoz ended up booking two Argentine officials, and a total of 15 players. Lahoz booked eight Argentinian players, and seven Netherlands players.

Argentine captain, Lionel Messi also felt prompted to speak against Lahoz’s decisions, going up to him, after the half-time whistle.

By the end of the second half, Lahoz had booked a total of 18 yellow cards in the game. The number has broken the previous record for most number of yellow cards. The previous record was 16 cards during the Portugal vs Netherlands back in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The match was popularly called by many as the ‘Battle of Nuremberg’.

Given below is the full list of players that Lahoz has booked so far:

1. Walter Samuel (31’) – Argentina coaching staff
2. Jurien Timber (43’)
3. Marcos Acuna (43’)
4. Christian Romero (45’)
5. Wout Weghorst (45+2’)
6. Memphis Depay (76’)
7. Lisandro Martinez (76’)
8. Steven Berghuis (88’)
9. Leandro Parades (89’)
10. Lionel Scaloni (90’) – Argentina manager
11. Lionel Messi (90+10’)
12. Nicolas Otamendi (90+12’)
13. Steven Bergwijn (91’) – ET
14. Gonzalo Montiel (109’) – ET
15. German Pezzella (112’) – ET
16. Denzel Dumfries (128’) – PS
17. Denzel Dumfries (129’) – PS (2nd yellow changed to red)
18. Noa Lang (129’) – PS

Other Controversial Decisions

This isn’t the first time that Lahoz has been surrounded by controversy, in fact he is quite notorious for having made several controversial decisions in the past.

Back when Lahoz was officiating a Barcelona vs Osasuna game, Lionel Messi paid tribute to Diego Maradona following his death. However, Lahoz booked Messi for his actions, much to the displeasure of Argentina and Barcelona fans.

In the Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid match back in the 2013-14 La Liga, Lahoz wrongly disallowed a goal from Messi. The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, helped Atletico win the prestigious title. According to the then assistant manager Elvio Paolorosso, Lahoz apologized to Barcelona for wrongly disallowing the goal.

Lahoz also sent Pep Guardiola off for dissent when Manchester City met Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League quarter final clash back in 2017/18.

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