After experiencing the wrath of Argentina’s star Lionel Messi, referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz will not officiate any more World Cup matches.

The South American’s quarterfinal matchup with the Dutch happened last week, and the Spaniard was put in charge of the match. Argentina won the match on penalties, but there were serious objections directed at the referee.

Lahoz sent out an eye-popping 17 yellow cards in a contentious match, and Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries was sent off after the final whistle was already blown. Also, before he even entered the field, two-goal hero Wout Weghorst was given a yellow card.

Messi, the scorer of Argentina’s second goal in the game, aired his complaints about the official’s performance. He told TyC Sports “This match shouldn’t have ended as it did.

“I don’t want to talk about the referee because they sanction you. But people saw what happened. We were afraid before the match because we knew how he was and I think FIFA has to review this. You can’t put a referee like him for these matches.”

Meanwhile, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez ruthlessly criticised Lahoz for his performance. He said, “The ref gave everything to them [Netherlands]. It all turned upside down.

“He gave 10 minutes extra time for no reason. He just wanted them to score. That referee is crazy. Arrogant. You say something to him and he talks back to you. It’s crazy.

“Because Spain were eliminated, he wanted to eliminate us. He is the worst referee at the World Cup. Hopefully we won’t have him again – he’s useless.”

It has since come to light that Lahoz’s performance was the last straw that doomed his World Cup hopes. The 45-year-old will not be in charge of any further games during the tournament and will instead head back to Spain.

Lahoz is not the only official to have been questioned for his performances at the World Cup over the last month. Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio was the target of severe criticism for his showing during England’s quarter-final defeat to France.

Numerous members of the Three Lions’ squad slammed him during their post-match interviews, whilst former Manchester United defender Gary Neville branded him as an “absolute joke”.

Speaking to ITV, he said: “The referee had a nightmare game, an absolute joke of a referee. I’m not saying that was all down to England’s defeat because that’s making excuses. He was just a bad referee, rank bad.”

YNaija