“I can’t say what I think. I don’t want to talk about the referee because you will be booked or penalized right away, but I think people saw for themselves what happened. FIFA needs to look into this. They can’t put such an important match in the hands of the referee if he doesn’t have it” Messi said after the quarter-finals.
Lahoz handed out 15 yellow cards to players on the pitch in a tense match, just one fewer than Russia’s record holder Valentin Ivanov in the memorable ‘Battle of Nuremberg’ as Portugal defeated the Netherlands in the round of 16 of the World Cup in 2006 (1:0) There were also four reds.
Montage of the quarter-final match of the World Cup Holland – Argentinavideo: Czech television
But Lahoz added a booking for Argentinian coach Scaloni and his assistant. Dutchman Denzel Dumfries also received two yellow cards during the penalty shootout, then also saw a red card off camera footage. In short, just a taste of the atmosphere in which the meeting took place.
Even if Argentina eventually moved on, paradoxically, it was their players who were most critical. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez had difficulties with a long setup, after which the Dutch equalized at 2:2.
“The referee turned everything upside down. He gave ten extra minutes for no reason. He just wanted them to score,” the English Aston Villa goalkeeper did not hide his indignation.
“He’s crazy, arrogant, the worst in the tournament. You tell him something and he replies. He wanted to eliminate us because Spain had already been eliminated. Let’s hope we never see him again, it’s useless,” Martínez launched against Lahoz.
On Sunday evening, at least for the Argentines, there was good news. The Spanish referee will no longer blow his whistle in Qatar foreign sources say, that “he was sent home”.
Not only were the main players in the match unhappy with the performance, German referee Patrick Ittrich was also critical. According to him, Lahoz should have sent off Argentinean Leandro Paredes and Dutchman Virgil van Dijk in the 89th minute.
“Paredes committed two offenses per card. First he fouled and then hit the ball to the opponent’s substitute. Therefore, two yellow cards and one red card should have followed. Immediately, Van Dijk ran from 80 meters and rammed him. It doesn’t matter if he did it with his chest or with his hands. It was rude and I think a red card should have followed as well. The referee lost control” Ittrich underlined.
In the penalty shoot-out, van Dijk missed while Parades converted. We can only speculate whether Lahoz’s late goal would not have tipped the balance in favor of the Dutch side.
💥 Inform @partidazocope
🔚 Mateu Lahoz’s participation in the World Cup ends after Holland – Argentina
🛫 Back to Spain
📺 The VAR referees (Hdez Hdez, Martínez Munuera and De Burgos) with the possibility to act in another match
📻 #COPEMondial pic.twitter.com/ytpWYFdPAy
— COPE’s big match (@partidazocope) December 11, 2022
In addition to Lahoz, Argentina’s Facundo Tello, who managed Portugal’s last quarter-final against Morocco, also exits the league. “It is unacceptable for an Argentine referee to boo us in this match after what happened yesterday in Argentina’s match with the Netherlands and how Messi complained,” veteran Portuguese defender Pepe enraged after being sent off.
“After what I saw today, they can already give Argentina the title,” said forcefully the 39-year-old matador, who did not like the game being interrupted by small fouls.
He also added coach Fernando Santos. “We know how it works. We already knew before the match who was going to boo us. The Portuguese referees are not there and the matches are still decided by the referees of the countries that are still playing the championship. I find it strange to say the least, but I don’t want to enter anymore on the merits, because that’s not the only reason we lost.”
