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Antonio Mateu Lahoz

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mateu and the second or maternal family name is Lahoz.

Antonio Mateu Lahoz
Mateu Lahoz in 2019
Full name Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz
Born (1977-03-12) 12 March 1977 (age 47)
Algímia d'Alfara, Valencia, Spain
Other occupation Physical education teacher[1]
Domestic
Years League Role
1999–2002 Spain Tercera División Referee
2002–2004 Spain Segunda División B
2004–2008 Spain Segunda División
2008– Spain La Liga
International
Years League Role
2011– FIFA listed Referee

Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈtonjo miˈɣel maˈtew laˈoθ]; born 12 March 1977) is a Spanish association football referee who has refereed La Liga matches since 2008. He is also an international referee with experience in several editions of the FIFA World Cup. He is known for his talkative and "quirky" approach to refereeing:[2] The Guardian has described him as the football star "who doesn't actually play but doesn't half perform".[3]

Early and personal life

Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz was born on 12 March 1977[4] in Algímia d'Alfara, a village in Valencia Province on Spain's eastern coast. He has a large family, with two brothers and three sisters. His elder brother, mother and late father influenced his decision to take up refereeing;[1] in part, the family's need for money after his father passing young prompted him to move into refereeing full-time rather than becoming a footballer. He played in the Segunda División B[3] and was a physical education teacher before becoming a football referee. His elder sister also works as a teacher, and he has said he could see himself continuing in that career when he retires from refereeing.[1] He lives in Valencia and has two sons.[3]

Career

Spain

In 2008, Mateu Lahoz began working as a referee in La Liga. Since then, he has established himself as one of the most prominent referees in Spain.[5] Considered unpopular among Spanish football fans, Mateu Lahoz is known for allowing matches to descend into chaos by not reacting to play, and then putting more attention on himself than the game through bizarre discussions with players and making controversial decisions.[6]

In 2012, he refereed in the Supercopa de España.[5] It was around this time that he first became known for a particular style, as it was commented on by Real Madrid manager José Mourinho; this response was praise, with Mourinho finding it a pleasant difference that Mateu Lahoz preferred talking to players over immediately disciplining them, and that what he did kept the game moving.[3] Mateu Lahoz was the referee in 2014 Copa del Rey Final between Real Madrid and their main rivals, Barcelona.[7]

On 31 December 2022, Mateu Lahoz refereed the end-of-year Catalan derby between Barcelona and local rivals Espanyol. Having recently been sent home from Qatar after a disastrous match, Mateu Lahoz was already subject to criticism. Partway through the first half, he seemingly abandoned the game to sprint across the pitch and greet Barcelona manager Xavi.[3] He gave 15 yellow cards (including 2 to the Barcelona bench) and 4 reds (one overturned by VAR) during the match, which became particularly chaotic towards the end. The match was a draw, resulting in Barcelona remaining at the top of La Liga, ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference.[3][8]

Mateu Lahoz then refereed a Copa del Rey match between Sevilla and Linares Deportivo on 5 January 2023, showing a red card to Sevilla's manager after 17 minutes.[9]

International

Since 2011, he has been a FIFA listed international referee.[5] He worked as a referee in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,[10] at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil,[4] 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia (and its qualifiers),[11][12] and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (from which he was sent home early after a particularly chaotic match). He was among 20 referees assigned to serve in the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[1] On 29 May 2021, Mateu Lahoz refereed the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester City and Chelsea.[13][14]

He refereed a 2018 Champions League match between Manchester City and Liverpool, during which Pep Guardiola, Manchester City's Spanish manager, notably addressed him on the pitch when half-time came. The Offside Rule wrote that Mateu Lahoz allowed incidents between players to flare up by not paying attention to the game, and described a disallowed goal in the match as "a catastrophic error".[15]

On 9 December 2022, Mateu Lahoz was the referee in the quarter-final match between the Netherlands and Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup; he issued a record 18 yellow cards (to 15 players, including two to Denzel Dumfries that saw him sent off after the match had concluded, and to Argentina's manager and assistant manager).[16][17] The number of cards, as well as their use, was criticised: some were deemed too harsh and some too lenient, with other incidents in the match Mateu Lahoz allowed to break into a brawl involving the entire Dutch substitutes' bench getting completely overlooked.[16][18][19] BBC Sport's Emma Smith wrote in her match report that he "did not help matters, to be kind. To be unkind, he had an absolute shocker - brandishing his yellow card with abandon ratcheted up tensions considerably, and by the time he finally showed red to Dumfries, he had long since lost all control." Smith also noted Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez' unimpressed reactions to the referee.[16] Argentina would go on to win this World Cup.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'Refereeing is happiness' – Porto final referee Mateu Lahoz". 28 May 2021.
  2. ^ McTear, Euan (5 March 2018). "Mateu Lahoz, Spain's "quirky" referee". Tifo Football. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Antonio Mateu Lahoz plays his cards wrong to make history in Catalan derby | Sid Lowe". the Guardian. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Antonio Mateu". Olympedia. 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Cup final". Maraca.
  6. ^ "El Real Madrid se salvó de Mateu Lahoz con el Clásico en el horizonte". www.defensacentral.com (in Spanish). 8 October 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Copa final Bar against RM". Maraca.
  8. ^ Summerscales, Robert. "Referee Mateu Lahoz Issues 15 Yellow Cards And Two Reds As Barcelona And Espanyol Draw". Futbol on FanNation. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  9. ^ Clark, Gill (5 January 2023). "Mateu Lahoz in the headlines again after Barcelona disasterclass". Barca Blaugranes. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Statistics for ANTONIO MATEU LAHOZ". World Referee. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Mateu lahoz un record mundial en un mar de criticas". AS. 10 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Two PRO referees selected for 2018 FIFA World Cup". Professional Referee Organization. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Referee teams appointed for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals". UEFA. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  14. ^ Siddall, Harry. "'He's Come Out of Retirement For Us!', 'And We Thought Marriner Was Bad' – Lots of Man City Fans React to Champions League Announcement". Sports Illustrated Manchester City News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Michael Oliver spot on to award Real Madrid penalty says Mark Halsey in Ref Review". The Offside Rule. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Smith, Emma (10 December 2022). "World Cup 2022: Netherlands and Argentina descend into chaos as new yellow card record set". BBC News.
  17. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022: Controversial referee Mateu Lahoz sent home after Lionel Messi outburst". India Today. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  18. ^ McNulty, Phil (10 December 2022). "World Cup 2022: Messi the master as Argentina beat Netherlands in chaotic Qatar classic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  19. ^ Hamilton, Tom (9 December 2022). "Argentina secure semifinal place over Netherlands after one of the wildest wins of Qatar 2022". ESPN. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  20. ^ "World Cup 2022: An explosion of joy as Argentina wins". BBC News. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
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